Before Thursday, Byung Ho Park had recovered from a slow start upon his demotion to Class AAA Rochester to hit five home runs in his last nine games.
Now he has eight homers in his last 10.
Park hit three home runs Thursday afternoon as the Twins' Class AAA minor-league team defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox 13-5. Park hit home runs in the sixth, eighth and ninth inning, with the final one a three-run blast to straightaway center field, according to the Red Wings' web site.
Until this season, by the way, no Rochester player had hit three homers in a game since 1990. Now it's been done twice this season, with Red Wings outfielder Adam Brett Walker doing so during a game in May.
Since losing his spot on the Twins' roster to Kennys Vargas, Park is batting .286 (22 for 77) for Rochester with 19 strikeouts. All of his homers have come in the last two weeks after Park didn't have an extra-base hit on an RBI in his first seven games with the Red Wings.
After the first home run in his streak, Park told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper: "I've mentioned this many times this year: I'm trying to focus on my timing. When my timing is good, I can square up a baseball. I'm trying to get the feeling back."
Here's a look at that homer, from July 14:
Park hit 12 home runs in his time with the Twins, but also struck out 80 times in 244 plate appearances. At times, he was overpowered by pitchers and, at other times, he had trouble adjusting to breaking pitches. Twins officials have sought patience when it comes to his adjustment from playing in South Korea. But the assumption that he'll get another serious chance with the Twins is countered by a question over where he'd play with youngsters Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Kennys Vargas in the lineup and veteran Joe Mauer signed through the 2018 season.
