Korean slugger Byung Ho Park hit a grand slam for his first spring training homer, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday.
Park hit a towering shot to left field in the first inning off Jake Odorizzi after the Rays starter walked a pair of batters with two outs and shortstop Tim Beckham’s fielding error loaded the bases.
The 29-year-old native of South Korea signed with the Twins as a free agent in December after spending the past nine seasons with the LG Twins and Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization.
Park was 1 for 8 with three strikeouts this spring before teeing off on a 1-1 fastball. He reached base on an error in the fourth and struck out in the sixth before leaving the game.
Kyle Gibson pitched two scoreless innings for Minnesota, allowing two hits and striking out one. Glen Perkins worked one inning, yielding Desmond Jennings’ third-inning sacrifice fly.
