메이저사이트 San Diego Padres outfielder Ha-Sung Kim (28) put on an unpredictable show at the plate to help his team win the Cy Young Award.
Kim went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the leadoff spot and a run batted in as the Padres hosted the 2023 Major League Baseball (ML) Miami Marlins at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on Sunday. His batting average and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) remained at .280 and .816, respectively, for the season.
San Diego completed the sweep with a 4-0 victory over Miami behind starter Seth Lugo’s six innings of three-hit, one-run ball with four strikeouts and Ha-Sung Kim’s game-winning RBI single. San Diego, which improved to 61-67, remained in fourth place in the National League West and the seventh wild-card spot.
Kim opened the scoring in his first at-bat with a helmet-to-helmet single. The pitcher was Sandy Alcantara, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner. A three-pitch slider from Alcantara was hit by Kim, and it landed in front of the left-field fence. It would have been a single, but Kim made another helmet-splitting leap and turned it into a double. His 20th of the season.
Kim Ha-seong./AFPBBNews=News1
The endless baserunning didn’t end there, as Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a grounder to third. But as Miami third baseman Jake Berger was throwing to first baseman Josh Bell, Kim took advantage of the gap and stole third base. Bell panicked and immediately threw to third, but his throw was inaccurate and allowed Kim to advance to third. That allowed Juan Soto to drive in Kim with a short single to right.
Kim struggled in subsequent at-bats. In the third inning, he grounded out to second base on a fastball, and in the fifth inning, he hit a 98.2-mile-per-hour (158-kilometer-per-hour) fastball into the right-field seats. His seventh-inning at-bat was a bit of a disappointment. After two strikes, he persevered and hit a 99.1 mph (159.5 km/h) fastball hard for the seventh pitch. However, the 94.7 mph (152.4 km/h) pitch went straight into the glove of Bell at first base, denying him a multi-hit opportunity.
It didn’t matter. San Diego made it 3-0 in the sixth when Xander Bogaerts blasted a two-run shot to center field with one out, and Tatis Jr. drove in a run in the seventh with a single to right field with two outs.
Miami starter Alcantara threw 105 pitches in 6⅔ innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts, but was held to just four hits as his team fell to 11-6 on the season.
San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts advances after hitting a home run with one out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against Miami, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2018. /AFPBBNews=News1
Miami starter Sandy Alcantara./AFPBBNews=News1
Miami Marlins-San Diego Padres starting lineup for Aug. 24
Miami Marlins: Jorge Soler (designated hitter) – Luis Araez (second base) – Josh Bell (first base) – Jayson Chizom Jr. (center field) – Jake Berger (third base) – Brian De La Cruz (left field) – Jesus Sanchez (right field) – Joey Wendle (shortstop) – Jacob Starlings (catcher). The starter is Sandy Alcantara.
San Diego Padres: Ha Sung Kim (third base)-Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field)-Juan Soto (left field)-Manny Machado (designated hitter)-Zander Bogaerts (shortstop)-Jake Cronenweth (second base)-Gary Sanchez (catcher)-Garrett Cooper (first base)-Trent Grisham (center field). Starting pitcher Seth Lugo.