PITTSBURGH -- Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang continued his hot hitting in a 8-7 loss to the Reds on Saturday night at PNC Park.
Kang went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the first inning and two-run home run in the third inning.
"He's working hard on both sides of the ball," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was on base four times, another homer. He's playing fresh, playing aggressive, swinging aggressive. If he takes a swing that maybe he's fooled a little bit he doesn't care, it doesn't matter. He gets back in the box and tries to size up and square up the next one. He's doing a nice job of that. He's doing a nice job of managing at-bats."

Since he came off the disabled list in six games Kang has gone 10-for-20 (.500) with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
"Nothing major has changed," Kang said. "There are always up and downs in the game of baseball and I try to focus and do well."
Kang, who was slumping before he went on the DL, is now batting .263 with 18 home runs and 51 RBIs.
"I'm trying to push myself harder because we're going toward the stretch," Kang stated. "My legs, my knee will always get better as time goes on. I feel good right now, I'm just trying to keep it consistent right now."