San Diego Padres outfielder Ha-seong Kim extended his hitting streak to five games, but he was left stranded on five occasions.
Kim went 1-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in the leadoff spot against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at Petco Park. San Diego went on to win the game 7-3, thanks to Kim’s game-winning hit.
Trailing 0-1 in the bottom of the first inning, Kim singled in his first at-bat. On a 2B1S pitch, he took a 94.6-mph fastball from San Francisco starter Tristan Beck and lined it to center field for a single.
The pitch touched 102.6 mph and was hit right down the center of the bat. Fernando Tatis Jr. then drove an 89.7 mph outside slider from Beck for a two-run double that cleared the right field fence. San Diego made it 3-0 when Juan Soto followed with a back-to-back arching solo shot to center field.
In his second at-bat of the inning with two outs and a 4-1 lead, Kim flied out to right field. On a 2B2S pitch, he hit a six-pitch, 79-mph sweeper that soared high and wide to right.
He was up to bat again in the third inning with a 6-1 lead, but hit a grounder to second base with two outs. He drove a 93.2-mph 10-seam fastball from left-hander Alex Wood hard, but it sailed just in front of the second baseman.
But the at-bat left much to be desired. On a 3B1S count, Wood’s 92-mph sinker on the fifth pitch was just outside the zone, but the umpire called it a strike. It was ruled a ball, and Kim went to first base with a puzzled look on his face and went back to the plate.
The next pitch, a 94-mph sinker in the seventh, sailed about 50 centimeters over the left-field fence. If it had fallen inside, it would have been a double to bring in all three runners. The fifth and seventh pitches were not as lucky.
In the sixth, he hit a bases-loaded single. On a full count, Wood’s sixth pitch, a 90-mph sinker, rolled 100 mph and was caught by second baseman Thyro Estrada near second base for a double play.
He was retired on a grounder to third base in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score 7-2. In total, Kim left five runners on base that day. Despite his bad luck, he was desperate for a hit.
After a five-game hitting streak, Kim is batting .277 with an OPS of .801 and is on the verge of breaking eight figures. He has 77 RBIs on the season.안전놀이터
San Diego starter Michael Wacka improved to 11-2 on the season after allowing two runs on six hits over six innings. San Diego, which snapped a three-game losing streak, improved to 63-73.