Once again, a new history was created for Korean major leaguers. San Diego Padres’ ‘Awesome Kim’ Kim Ha-seong (28) became the first Korean major leaguer to reach 30 stolen bases.
Ha-seong Kim started as the first hitter and second baseman in the ‘2023 Major League’ home game against the San Francisco Giants held at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA on the 4th (Korean time).메이저놀이터
On this day, San Diego had Kim Ha-seong (second baseman) – Fernando Tatis Jr. (right fielder) – Juan Soto (left fielder) – Manny Machado (designated hitter) – Xander Bogaerts (shortstop) – Luis Campusano (catcher) – Matt Carpenter (first baseman) – Matthew Batten (third baseman) – Trent Grisham (center fielder) and starting pitcher Seth Lugo filled the starting lineup.
San Francisco: Lamonte Wade Jr. (first baseman) – Tyro Estrada (second baseman) – Wilmer Flores (designated hitter) – Jak Pederson (left fielder) – Patrick Bailey (catcher) – Mike Yastrzemski (right fielder) – JD Davis (Third baseman) – Brandon Crawford (shortstop) – Wade Meckler (center fielder) and starting pitcher Alex Cobb were featured.
◆ 1st inning: Kim Ha-seong writes a new history for Korean major leaguers
San Diego had a left-field hit by Estrada in the top of the 1st inning, but Flores was grounded out to shortstop and Pederson was also caught by a grounder to shortstop, ending the inning without allowing any runs.
Kim Ha-seong, who appeared as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning, had the ball count at 2 strikes, but hit Cobb’s 94 mph (151 km) sinker on the 4th pitch and hit a right-handed hit. Ha-seong Kim then succeeded in stealing second base, marking his 30th steal of the season, becoming the first Korean major leaguer to steal 30 bases in a single season.
But he didn’t score. When Tatis Jr.’s shortstop grounded, Kim Ha-seong, who was heading to third base, was tagged out. Still, San Diego did not give up on the hunt for points. When Tatis Jr. reached second base with a balk, Soto hit a two-run home run to left-center, putting San Diego ahead 2-0. Soto hit his 28th home run of the season.
This was not the end. Machado hit a single to left and Bogaerts hit a timely double to left-center, putting San Diego up 3-0. Campusano’s batted ball led to an error by first baseman Wade Jr., leading to chances on 1st and 3rd with one out, but no additional points were scored.
▲ Juan Soto is happy after hitting a home run.
▲ Kim Ha-seong’s second inning at bat ⓒMLB.com capture
◆ Episode 2: ‘Isn’t it the cheek?’ Ha-seong Kim’s disappointing strikeout
ended the inning with a simple three-way strike for San Diego, including striking out leadoff hitter Bailey in the top of the second inning on a missed swing.
In the bottom of the second inning, leadoff hitter Grisham retired with a groundout to first base, and Kim Ha-seong took his second at-bat without a runner on base. Ha-Seong Kim, who had the advantage with a ball count of 3B and 1S, engaged in a full-count battle by passing the ball that came in on the 5th pitch, and continued the tenacious game by hitting foul balls side by side on the 6th and 7th pitches. The problem was next. Cobb threw a 94 mph sinker on the 8th pitch, which seemed to fall outside the strike zone, but umpire Ryan Wills called a strike, and Ha-seong Kim had to strike out.
In the end, San Diego ended the bottom of the second inning without scoring, with even Tatis Jr. grounding out to third base.
◆ 3rd inning: San Diego is on the rise, Machado hits a shot
San Diego cruised in the 3rd inning as well. After two outs in the top of the third inning, Wade Jr. hit to right, but San Diego held Estrada on a fly out to right field and did not allow a run. In the bottom of the third, leadoff hitter Soto bowed after striking out on a missed swing, but Machado hit a solo home run in the middle of the third inning. They were able to run away with a 4-0 score. It was Machado’s 26th home run of the season.
San Diego continued the trend when Bogaerts got on base with an infield hit toward third base, but Campusano hit a double play that led to the shortstop, second baseman, and first baseman, so the inning had to end without any additional runs.
◆ 4th inning: Kim Ha-seong, not satisfied with 30 stolen bases, added 1 stolen base.
San Diego replaced catcher with Gary Sanchez in the top of the fourth inning and went on defense. This time too, it was a three-way trip. After one out, Pederson was struck out on a swing and Bailey was retired with a fly out to center field.
San Francisco brought in Keaton Wynn as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the 4th inning instead of Cobb, who struggled with 4 runs through the 3rd inning. San Diego opened the bottom of the 4th inning with leadoff hitter Carpenter hitting a double to right, and had a chance to get 3rd with 1 out thanks to Batten’s sacrifice bunt, but Grisham retired with a grounder to 2nd base and was cornered with 2 outs.
Kim Ha-seong, who appeared with 2 outs and 3rd base, did not miss Wynn’s shaking control and calmly chose to walk. He didn’t even have to swing at the plate. Winn threw a 95 mile (153 km) sinker on the 5th pitch at ball count 3B 1S, but it was still a ball.
Kim Ha-seong, who went to first base, noticed that second base was empty and boldly attempted to steal. The result is safe. It was Kim Ha-seong’s 31st stolen base of the season. The chance with 2 outs and 2nd and 3rd bases went to Tatis Jr., but Tatis Jr. retired with a ground ball out to shortstop, so San Diego did not score.
San Diego walked leadoff hitter Yastrzemski in the top of the 5th inning, but led Davis to a grounder to third base while Crawford also grounded out to shortstop, quickly getting 2 outs. Here, he struck out Meckler and continued his scoreless streak.
San Diego attacked in the bottom of the 5th inning with a 4-0 lead. After two outs, Bogaerts reached base with an infield hit toward third base. Bogaerts attempted to steal second base and caught catcher Bailey’s throw. As Bogaerts headed to third base, center fielder Meckler threw to third base, which also missed. Bogaerts ran toward home plate after being thrown out, but was eventually tagged out.
pitching streak San Diego starting pitcher Lugo’s good pitching streak continued. Lugo, who treated leadoff hitter Wade Jr. with a catcher’s foul fly out, continued the momentum by catching Estrada with a third baseman’s fly out as well. Although Flores hit a double in the middle of the month, Pederson was handled with a flyout to left field and the inning ended cleanly.
San Diego also took a break for a while. After one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, the attack ended with a three-way strike, with Carpenter walking away with a missed swing and a strikeout.
San Diego replaced the pitcher. Nick Martinez was brought to the mound in the top of the 7th inning with a 4-0 lead. Leadoff hitter Bailey retired with a missed swing and a strikeout. Jastrzemski then hit a fly ball, which was caught by second baseman Ha-seong Kim. Davis hit an infield hit to the pitcher, and Crawford got on base with a ball that hit his body, giving San Francisco a chance with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, but Meckler retired with a flyout to right field, and San Diego overcame the risk of conceding a run.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, leadoff hitter Grisham was thrown out by a fly ball to left field, and Kim Ha-seong came to bat again with one out and no runner on base. Wynn’s first pitch 85 mph (137 km) slider seemed to have fallen outside the strike zone, but umpire Wills called it a strike. It was another disappointing decision. Ha-Seong Kim picked the second ball and hit a foul ball on the third ball. However, he ended up striking out on the 4th pitch with a foul tip on a 97 mph (156 km) four-seam fastball.
San Diego, where even Kim Ha-seong failed to get on base, ended the inning without any results as Tatis Jr. hit a fly out to center field.
◆ 8th inning: San Diego was aiming to score, but…
San Diego did not score any additional points after the third inning, but they overcame it with the power of the mound. Scott Barlow, who appeared in relief in the top of the 8th inning, also pitched one inning without allowing a run. After two outs, Flores was walked, but it had nothing to do with the score. This is because the inning ended when Pederson was caught with a fly out to first base.
San Diego, aiming to score a key score, attacked in the bottom of the 8th inning, with Machado and Bogaerts both hitting heavy hits, and catcher Bailey’s fastball to keep the team on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, but Carpenter failed to score as he retired with a fly out to center field.
◆ 9th inning: San Diego closing pitcher Hader’s KKK show
With San Diego leading 4-0, closing pitcher Josh Hader was brought to the mound. Although it was not a save situation, the pitcher who could best save the last inning was selected. Hader struck out Austin Slatter, who came on as a pinch hitter, following leadoff hitter Bailey. He then walked Davis, but Mitch Haniger, who came on as a pinch hitter, also struck out a missed swing, signaling the end of the game. The finale of the game was Hader’s ‘KKK Show’.
had a 3-game winning streak with this win, recorded a season record of 65 wins and 73 losses. San Diego, which is still ranked 4th in the National League West Division, trailed San Francisco, who was mired in three straight losses with the loss, by 5.5 games. San Francisco is currently tied for 3rd place in the National League wild card with 70 wins and 67 losses, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins, and is continuing to struggle.
Ha-Seong Kim, who left 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 stolen bases in 4 at-bats on this day, recorded a season batting average of .275, an on-base percentage of .365, a slugging percentage of .429, and an OPS of .794, along with 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases.
San Diego starting pitcher Lugo pitched well in 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and no runs, and earned his 6th win (6th loss) of the season. He simultaneously succeeded in lowering his season ERA to 3.49. Following Lugo, Martinez, Barlow, and Hader came out one after another, each recording one inning of no runs. On the other hand, San Francisco starting pitcher Cobb hit two home runs in three innings, gave up six hits and four runs, and suffered his sixth loss (seventh win) of the season. The season ERA soared to 3.74. Wynn, who took the mound after Cobb, pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and no runs.
Meanwhile, San Diego will play a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at their home stadium, Petco Park, from the 5th to the 7th. Philadelphia is the team leading the National League wild card with 75 wins and 61 losses. San Diego plans to send out 43-year-old veteran Rich Hill as a starting pitcher on the 5th. Hill, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Ji-Man Choi ahead of the trade deadline, has 7 wins, 13 losses, and an ERA of 5.26 this season. The Philadelphia starting pitcher that San Diego will face is right-hander Taijuan Walker. Walker, who has 14 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 4.05 this year, will attempt to achieve 15 wins against San Diego