#Rays’ Ji-Man Choi is ultimate Yankees, Gerrit Cole nemesis

Ji-Man Choi might be this era’s Enrique Wilson or Joe McEwing in relation to an ace pitcher.

Wilson, a journeyman infielder who played for the Yankees in the early 2000s, was best known for his mastery of Pedro Martinez, then near the height of his powers as a Hall of Fame pitcher. McEwing, a journeyman who played for the Mets, is maybe best remembered for his success against Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

Choi, the Rays’ first baseman, brings a respectable bat to the lineup, but not the kind that explains his domination of Gerrit Cole, with whom he will renew acquaintances Monday in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.

Lifetime, Choi is 8-for-12 (.667) against Cole with three homers and eight RBIs. Two of those homers came in Cole’s two starts against the Rays this season.

“He’s a great pitcher and I just think facing him brings the best out of me,” Choi said Sunday. “Just with the experience of facing him last year in the playoffs and two times this year, it’s getting me comfortable facing him.”

After missing the final two weeks of the regular season with a strained left hamstring, Choi returned for the first round of the playoffs and went 0-for-3 in a reserve role in the Rays’ two-game sweep of the Blue Jays.

Choi said he is still trying to figure out where he’s at with his timing at the plate.

“I think with the time off, hopefully my timing comes back sooner rather than later so I can help the team,” Choi said.

Though Choi has batted leadoff on occasion, Rays manager Kevin Cash said that probably won’t happen Monday.

“I think he will sit more in the middle,” Cash said.

Choi appeared in six games for the Yankees in 2017 before spending the next season with Milwaukee. He has spent the past two seasons with Tampa Bay, largely in a platoon role at first base.

Other than Choi, the only Rays player with numbers of note against Cole is Yandy Diaz. The Rays utilityman is 5-for-12 (.417) lifetime with a homer against the Yankees ace.

“Try to score early on [Cole], try to get him to work a lot and just swing at strikes,” Willy Adames said. “He’s going to throw you a bunch of those and try to put the barrel on the ball. Try to take him out early in the game, and to do that we have to be aggressive. That’s the mentality for [Monday].”