The ‘Korean duo’ of Kim Ha-seong (27) and Choi Ji-man (32, San Diego Padres) could not prevent the team from losing.
Ha-seong Kim started as the fifth hitter and third baseman in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) visiting game against the San Francisco Giants held at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on the 26th (Korean time) and was silent with no hits in four at-bats. 파워볼게임
First baseman Choi Ji-man, the 6th hitter in the batting order right behind him,
also bowed with no hits in 4 at-bats.
Kim Ha-seong
Kim Ha-seong’s season batting average fell to 0.264 (136 hits in 516 at-bats),
Choi Ji-man’s batting average dropped to 0.155 (15 hits in 97 at-bats)
after going hitless in 13 consecutive games after transferring to San Diego.
Ha-seong Kim stood at bat with San Diego taking the lead in the first inning on hits by Sander Boharz,
Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado, with one out and runners on first and second base.
He attacked San Francisco starting pitcher Logan Webb’s sinker on the first pitch and fired a clothesline-like ball into the outfield, but it headed straight toward the left fielder.
Choi Ji-man
At this time, Tatis Jr., the runner on second base, started off confident of a hit,
but was out because he failed to return to base.
Choi Ji-man, who came to the plate with a chance to turn the game around with just one hit,
hit a ground ball toward first base.
Ji-Man Choi missed the opportunity to become a hero, as he hit a ball that was well-hit in the previous three at-bats but hit the ball straight at the fielder.
San Diego lost a golden opportunity to score because the runner on third base ran home on Choi Ji-man’s batted ball and was out.
San Diego, with a record of 77 wins and 80 losses, widened the gap with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs, the teams tied for second place in the National League wild card, to 5.5 games.
The ‘elimination number’, meaning San Diego’s elimination from the postseason, is now ‘1’.
If San Diego loses one game or Arizona or the Cubs win, they will automatically be eliminated from the postseason.