Now we can see the real 40 stolen bases. The record of becoming the first Asian major leaguer to hit 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases is getting closer.
San Diego Padres’ number one hitter Kim Ha-seong (28), ‘Awesome Kim’, struggled with no hits at the plate, but added one stolen base and recorded his 36th stolen base of the season.
Ha-seong Kim started as the first hitter and second baseman in the 2023 Major League Baseball visiting game against the Oakland Athletics held at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA on the 16th (Korean time).
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) – Garrett Cooper (first baseman) – Matthew Batton (third baseman) and Jose Ajocar (center fielder) were batted 1st through 9th, and right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo was selected as the starting pitcher.
Oakland, with left-handed pitcher Sean Newcombe as the starting pitcher, has Ryan Noda (first baseman), Jack Gelloff (second baseman), Brent Rooker (designated hitter), Seth Brown (right fielder), Shay Langelius (catcher), and Jordan Diaz ( The starting batting order consisted of (3rd baseman) – Lawrence Butler (center fielder) – Nick Allen (shortstop) – Estewri Ruiz (left fielder).
Kim Ha-seong, who appeared as the leadoff hitter in the top of the first inning, took the advantage in the match against Newcombe with a ball count of 3B and 1S, but he failed to get on base when he hit a 92-mile (148km) four-seam fastball that came in on the fifth pitch and resulted in a fly out to center field. Although Ha-Seong Kim failed to reach base, San Diego scored first when Tatis Jr. hit a solo home run to right-center field. Tatis Jr. hit his 25th home run of the season.
This wasn’t the end. Soto walked, and Machado also walked to first base. Bogaerts’ ground ball to first base put Machado out, resulting in a 2-out, 1st and 3rd base situation. While Newcomb committed a wild pitch, 3rd base runner Soto scored, allowing San Diego to take a 2-0 lead.
San Diego starting pitcher Lugo struck out all three batters in the bottom of the first inning and got off to a good start with the ‘KKK.’ San Diego then had a chance to load the bases with no outs in the top of the second inning thanks to Cooper’s double, Batton’s left-field hit, and Ajocar’s ball hitting the body. Just like that, San Diego’s batting order took a turn, and it was Kim Ha-seong’s turn again. However, Ha-seong Kim took a missed swing at the 94 mph (151 km) four-seam fastball that came in on the 7th pitch at ball count 2B 2S, and ended up striking out.
Ha-seong Kim was not able to solve the problem, but this time, Tatis Jr. hit a timely hit, allowing two runners to score, and San Diego succeeded in widening the lead to 4-0.
Auckland also started chasing. In the bottom of the second inning, Langelius hit a solo home run to left-center, recording his 20th home run of the season. In the bottom of the third inning, Ruiz reached base with a single and then succeeded in stealing second base. He recorded his 59th steal of the season, creating a scoring opportunity, and Noda hit a double to the left outfield, allowing Oakland to score one more run.
Oakland put right-handed pitcher Adrian Martinez on the mound instead of Newcomb in the top of the fourth inning, and San Diego had a chance to score when leadoff hitter Ajocar hit a hit to right. However, Ha-seong Kim hit Martinez’s first pitch sinker at 93 miles (150 km) and poured cold water on him with a double play that led to third base, second base, and first base. In the end, Tatis Jr. also retired due to a groundout to first base, and San Diego had to end the inning without scoring.
Still, San Diego was not frustrated. In the top of the 5th inning, leadoff hitter Soto got on base with a single to left and succeeded in stealing second base. Then, when Bogaerts got on base with a ball that hit his body and had a chance to get runners on first and second base with one out, Campusano hit a timely double to left, scoring a run. scored a goal San Diego took a 5-2 lead.
And then San Diego attacked in the top of the 6th inning. Ha-Seong Kim, who came to the plate with one out, faced Martinez again and walked on a straight walk, successfully reaching base for the first time in the game that day. Ha-seong Kim, who succeeded in stealing second base, had a dizzying moment when his left ankle hit the base hard while sliding. Ha-Seong Kim complained of pain for a moment, but he soon got up and the game resumed.
It was Kim Ha-seong’s 36th stolen base of the season. Ha-seong Kim, who has already broken the record for the most stolen bases by a Korean in a single season in the Major League and the most stolen bases by an Asian infielder, will now go down in history as the second Asian Major Leaguer to steal 40 bases by adding just four more bases. To date, Ichiro Suzuki remains the only Asian major leaguer to record more than 40 stolen bases in a season.
But there was no score. San Diego also had a chance to get on base with Tatis Jr. on base with one out and runners on first and second base, but Soto retired with a fly out to left field and Machado ended up hitting a fly out to center field, so they had to switch offense and defense empty-handed.
Then, Oakland tacked on one run in the bottom of the sixth inning with Rooker’s solo home run to left. It was Luker’s 25th home run of the season. In the top of the 7th inning, leadoff hitter Bogaerts hit a single to left, but San Diego, who also did not score, had difficulty scoring runs in the top of the 8th inning, with Kim Ha-seong striking out on a missed swing. Ha-seong Kim faced Martinez again and ended up swinging missing on the 82 mph changeup that came in on the 5th pitch at ball counts of 1B 2S.
However, San Diego had an attack in the top of the 9th inning. San Diego was cornered with two outs, but Cooper’s walk and Baton’s hit left the runners on base, and thanks to Ajocar’s three-run home run to left-center, San Diego succeeded in running away with a 8-3 lead. It was Ajocar’s first home run of the season.
In the end, the game ended with San Diego winning 8-3. San Diego belatedly reached the 70-win (78-loss) mark. They are still ranked 4th in the National League West Division. Oakland, the weakest team in the Major League this year, recorded 46 wins and 101 losses.
Ha-seong Kim was unable to prevent his season batting average from dropping to .266, leaving no hits in 4 at-bats, 1 walk, and 1 stolen base. Ha-seong Kim, who played in 142 games this year, has a season batting average of .266, an on-base percentage of .356, a slugging percentage of .408, and an OPS of .764, along with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases.
The winning pitcher was Lugo. Lugo pitched well, striking out 7 in 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs, and earned his 7th win (7th loss) of the season. Lugo’s season ERA was 3.83. The relief pitchers who took the mound following Lugo pitched one inning without allowing a run. Scott Barlow pitched well with two strikeouts and no runs in one inning, earning his fourth hold of the season, and Robert Suarez also pitched well with two strikeouts and no runs in one inning, pitching well and earned his sixth hold of the season. Luis Garcia, who appeared in the 9th inning, also struck out 1 and allowed no runs during 1 inning.먹튀검증
The losing pitcher was Oakland starting pitcher Newcomb. Newcomb suffered his first loss of the season, allowing only 4 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 3 innings.
In the batting lineup, Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3 with a home run, 2 walks, 3 RBIs and 1 run, Ajocardo went 2-for-4 with a home run, 3 RBIs and 1 run, Bogaerts went 2-for-4 and Batten went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored. were recorded respectively. There were also 4 stolen bases. In addition to Ha-seong Kim, Tatis Jr. recorded his 26th stolen base of the season, Bogaerts recorded his 16th stolen base of the season, and Soto recorded his 10th stolen base of the season. In contrast, Oakland, which had only 5 hits, did not even have a player with multiple hits.