It’s getting to the point where a single-game multi-hit game isn’t even a thing anymore. National League (NL) slugger Ha-Sung Kim, 28, led the San Diego Padres to a big win and an end to their losing streak.
Kim went 2-for-5 with a home run and a run scored in the Padres’ first game of the 2023 Major League Baseball season against the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on Saturday.온라인카지노
With the win, Kim’s season batting average increased slightly from .283 to .285. After starting August with a .281 batting average, Ha-Sung Kim has been stuck between .280 and .290, with only one multi-hit game in the month, on August 12 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
One thing that has been steadily improving, however, is his position as a leadoff hitter. Kim Hae-sung started playing leadoff in mid-June. On July 29, he was batting .295 as a leadoff hitter, but a multi-hit game that day boosted his average to .313. Among National League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, that ranks fourth in the top five, behind Luis Arajuez (Miami Marlins, 0.376), Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves, 0.338) and Lane Thomas (Washington Nationals, 0.318).
San Diego snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-3 victory over Baltimore, led by a pair of tablesetters in Ha Sung Kim and Fernando Tatis Jr. who combined for five hits. The Dodgers kept their hopes alive with a 57-63 record, good for fourth place in the National League West and the seventh wild card, 2.5 games out of a postseason berth.
Ha-Sung Kim has a multi-hit game in less than five innings… and he did it again with a walk.
Kim Ha-Sung./AFPBBNews=news1
A graphic of the pitching matchup between Ha-Sung Kim and Nick Vespi in the fourth inning of the San Diego-Baltimore game on Saturday. Kim scooped up a low pitch (yellow square) for an infield hit. /Photo=MLB.com
Kim Ha-seong./AFPBBNews=News1
Kim went long in his first at-bat. Baltimore starter Zach Flaherty continued to target the lower part of the strike zone and didn’t give up any easy pitches, but Kim hit a 77.2-mile-per-hour knuckleball five pitches down the line in left field for a two-run double. It was a bullet, clocking in at 98.5 mph. Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts followed with singles, and Jake Cronenweth added a push-button single to load the bases. Gary Sanchez followed with a grand slam to right center to give San Diego a 5-0 lead.
The second inning was one homer short. With one out in the inning, Kim hit a four-pitch fastball from Flaherty that was high and away from his body and sent it 348 feet to the left field fence. However, it was caught by left fielder Austin Hays with just a few meters to go.
His second hit was more of the same. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Kim lifted a low, outside curveball from reliever Nick Vespi. Vespey tried to dive for it, but it hit his glove and deflected, allowing Kim to make a helmet-splitting sprint for an infield single. Juan Soto’s grounder to short ended the scoring.
By the time Kim came to bat for the third time in the fifth inning, the game was already tilted in San Diego’s favor. With runners on second and third, Machado made it 7-0 with a two-run double to left field, and with runners on second and third in the fifth, Garrett Cooper added another run with a double to center field. Ben Gamel followed with a two-run double to right-center field to give San Diego a 10-0 lead.
Kim was stranded at second base in the fifth inning and third base in the eighth inning. Baltimore added one run in the sixth and two in the ninth, but San Diego held on for the 10-3 win.
San Diego starter Michael Wacka improved to 9-2 on the season with five innings of three-hit ball, one walk and five strikeouts, while Baltimore starter Flaherty dropped to 8-2 on the season with three innings of four-hit ball, one home run, four walks and seven strikeouts.
August 16 Baltimore Orioles-San Diego Padres Starting Lineup
San Diego Padres starting lineup for August 16. /Photo: San Diego Padres official social media accounts
Baltimore Orioles: Adley Rutchman (catcher) – Gunnar Henderson (shortstop) – Anthony Santander (right field) – Ryan O’Hearn (first base) – Ryan Mountcastle (designated hitter) – Austin Hays (left field) – Adam Frazier (second base) – Ramon Urias (third base). Starting pitcher Zach Flaherty.
San Diego Padres: Ha-Sung Kim (second base)-Fernando Tatis Jr. (center field)-Juan Soto (left field)-Manny Machado (third base)-Zander Bogaerts (shortstop)-Jake Cronenweth (first base)-Dogs.
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