Choi belts 3 more home runs against Twins

LOS ANGELES – Hee-Seop Choi homered three times for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.

Choi homered in the first, fourth and sixth innings off Twins starter Brad Radke. Choi also homered twice against the Twins in a 6-5 victory Friday night, and once in a 5-3 loss Saturday night.

Two of Choi’s homers Sunday came on the first pitch, including a line drive that just cleared the fence in right field in the sixth and gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

Each time, fans erupted in chants of “Hee-Seop Choi.”

Choi had six homers in 144 at-bats this season prior to Friday. Now he has six in his last 11 at-bats – including five solo shots.

Choi was the first player to hit three homers at Dodger Stadium since Philadelphia’s Mike Lieberthal did so on Aug. 10, 2002.

“Unbelievable,” Choi said. “The best game of my career. I feel very comfortable every at-bat. I see the ball and swing. Sometimes I think too much, but now I feel more relaxed and focused.”

It was the 16th time in Dodgers history that a player homered at least three times in a game. The most recent was Shawn Green, who homered four times at Milwaukee on May 23, 2002.

Choi was acquired last July from Florida as part of a trade for Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota and Juan Encarnacion.