Choi (hamstring strain) expected to miss time

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ji-Man Choi exited Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Red Sox at Tropicana Field with a left hamstring strain, and it appears that the Rays first baseman will miss some time.

“I think it’s fair that he’s going to miss some time. It’s pretty unfortunate,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “He’s such a big part of our team. It’s really unfortunate at this point. We’ll see what the doctors say, but that’s a tough one.”

Choi said that he had been feeling some pain on the hamstring “for a while,” but that he felt something was wrong as he rounded third on a Nate Lowe RBI single in the fourth inning. Choi initially tried to walk it off, but quickly went down to his knees, which brought Cash and the training staff out from the home dugout.

After a few minutes on the field, Choi limped off the field with little assistance from Cash and translator Steve Nam. Choi is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Sunday to help determine the severity and if he’ll be able to return before the start of the postseason.

“It doesn’t feel good right now,” Choi said through Nam. “We’ll see what happens with the MRI tomorrow, but we’re just hoping for the best.”

Choi entered Saturday hitting just .223, but he has been much better at the plate lately, batting .282 in his last 12 games. He went 1-for-1 with a walk on Saturday. He also has five extra-base hits and six RBIs in his last 11 games.

If Choi goes on the injured list, which is expected, he will join Mike Zunino (oblique) and Yandy Díaz.

“I believe in my team,” Choi said. “Throughout this whole season, it has always been next man up and we have great depth. I also believe in my trainers. They help me a lot throughout the season.”