PITTSBURGH -- Tough defeat or not, Monday night was one of the Pirates' most encouraging of the season. Shortly before taking the PNC Park field for what would be a deflating 3-0 loss to the Cardinals, they were stoked by a clubhouse and dugout visit from Jung Ho Kang.
Kang, operated on Sept. 17 for a torn left lateral meniscus and fractured tibial plateau in his left knee, rolled in on a wheelchair, accompanied by his parents, who had come from their South Korean home following their son's surgery.
Teammates described Kang as being "in very good spirits.