Kim Ha-sung is running toward
"20.9 Paces" Kim Ha-sung is running toward the first Confrontation with KBO's 'reverse export myth' 16th home run explosion
Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres), who can be called the hottest hitter in the Major League, is one step closer to Asian infielder "first" 20 home runs and 20 steals.
Kim Ha-sung started as the third baseman and the first batter in the first game of the 2023 Major League Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on the 20th, and scored one hit (one home run) and one RBI in four at-bats. The season's batting average dropped slightly from 0.281 to 0.280.
After hitting his 15th home run of the season against the Colorado Rockies on the 3rd, Kim Ha-sung's bat, which rarely drew an arch despite his good batting sense, ignited again. He hit his 16th home run in 15 games, making him the "first" Asian infielder major leaguer to have only four home runs left on the 20th and 20th stolen bases.
Kim Ha-sung's bat, which was inferior to Merrill Kelly in the KBO League with six hits in 29 at-bats, one home run, and a batting average of 0.207 OPS 0.661, burned from his first at-bat. In his first at-bat as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning, trailing 0-2, Kim Ha-sung held out his bat as Kelly's second 90.8-mile (about 146.1km) four-seam fastball formed slightly high in the middle of the strike zone and the best course to hit.
Kim Ha-sung's ball hit so well that he could feel that he headed out of the fence at the same time as he left the bat, stretched at a speed of 101.3 miles (about 163 kilometers) and flew 378 feet (about 115.2 meters) over the left-center fence of Petco Park. The home run was his 16th home run of the season in 15 games, his fifth major league leadoff home run and his second big league arch against Kelly.
The only Asian major leaguers who joined the 20 home runs and 20 steals club are Cleveland Indians (currently Guardians) in the 2009-2010 season, Choo Shin-soo (now SSG Landers) in 2013 and Shohei Otani (LA Angels) in 2021. So far, Kim Ha-sung's pace has become the first Asian infielder to join the 20-20 club if he maintains the flow with 20.9 home runs.
The result was a little disappointing after his first at-bat. Kim Ha-sung hit a 93.6-mile (about 150.6km) sinker that fell low out of Kelly's fifth strike zone in the bottom of the second inning with two outs and a runner on first base, but stepped down with a shortstop ground ball, and struck out three pitches in his third at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, trailing 3-5.
No additional hits were made in his fourth at-bat. Kim Ha-sung faced Arizona's changed pitcher Kevin Zinkel at the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and first base, trailing 3-6, and suffered a dizzying situation once when a 4th pitch 97.6 miles (about 157km) four-seam fastball flew toward the body. Kim Ha-sung also looked at the referee as if he was embarrassed and couldn't turn for a while. And he scooped up a low slider for the seventh pitch, but stepped down with a fly ball to second baseman.
Kim Ha-sung, who was unlikely to be able to enter the batter's box after the at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, entered the batter's box once again in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and runners on second and third base, trailing 4-6. However, he hit Seattle closer Paul Seawold's sixth pitch, but the ball was cut into the inside of the bat, and he was silent with a fly ball to first base, ending the game without taking advantage of the most important opportunity.
Despite Kim Ha-sung's strong performance, San Diego knelt in the first game of the doubleheader, widening the gap with Arizona, ranked third in the National League West, by four games. At a time when the results of every game are important, hope for autumn baseball is gradually disappearing.
On this day, the two teams exchanged fiercely from the beginning of the game. Arizona will take the lead. Arizona succeeded in taking the lead 0-2 in the first inning with Ruerdes Guriel Jr. and Alec Thomas hitting consecutive timely hits in a scoring chance made by Corbyn Carroll's double and Christian Walker's walk.
San Diego also immediately followed suit. San Diego narrowed the gap based on Kim Ha-sung's fifth lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning, and Manny Machado balanced it by connecting his 22nd home run of the season with a tie-breaking solo home run. Later, when Arizona regained its lead by scoring one point in the third inning, San Diego returned the game to square one thanks to Matt Carpenter's timely hit in the bottom of the fourth inning.
However, the flow of the game began to tilt toward Arizona in the fifth inning. Arizona widened the gap in the fifth inning with Tommy Pam shooting a two-run shot, and ran 3-6 in the sixth inning when Gerardo Perdomo traded a point for his outcount. San Diego's Machado hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the eighth inning, but it was not easy to narrow the gap. In particular, he fell to his knees 4-6 without taking advantage of the chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. 스포츠토토
Meanwhile, Kelly, who hit a home run by Kim Ha-sung on the same day, pitched 102 pitches, three hits (two home runs), four walks, three strikeouts, and three runs (three earned runs) in 5⅓ innings, earning 10 wins for the second consecutive year. Kelly's third major league career double - digit winning season. His ERA rose slightly from 3.05 to 3.16, but he remained firmly in third place in the National League.