For the second day in a row, Bae Bae-hwan was at the center of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ victory. The day before, he laid the groundwork for a come-from-behind victory, but today, he was the “fixer.
On the 24th (KST)토토사이트, Bae started at second base and batted eighth in the lineup against the Cincinnati Reds of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and went 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs, one run scored, and one walk.
Bae made his presence felt the day before (23rd). After going hitless until midway through the game, Bae produced his first hit in the seventh inning, trailing 4-5, and then stole his 24th base of the season. He then drove in Brian Reynolds on a short fly ball to tie the game.
Once again, Bae’s performance stood out. He seized control of a game that was looking bleak from the outset and provided not only the “springboard” but also the “wedge” for the comeback victory. He went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, a run scored, and a walk. As a result, his .237 batting average jumped to .241.
Even though the game was in doubt after giving up eight runs in the first inning, Bae was up to the task. Bae started the game in the top of the third inning, facing Philadelphia starter Conor Phillips and striking out on a four-pitch, 85.6-mph sweeper that was well out of the strike zone.
The first run came in his second at-bat. Trailing 9-1 in the top of the fourth inning, Bae stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second and a chance to score, and this time he was able to get a straight ball to Phillips with a good at-bat. Pittsburgh loaded the bases with one out on a Bae walk, but couldn’t capitalize on the big hit.
In his third at-bat, he got his first hit and RBI. In the top of the sixth, Bae faced Cincinnati reliever Alex Young with runners on first and second and one out. Bae fouled off the first and second pitches to put him in an unfavorable 0B-2S count, but the third pitch, an 81.8-mph curveball in the middle of the strike zone, didn’t miss, and he lined it into the right-field seats for a single.
After Bae’s hit, the Pittsburgh offense began to spark. Bae reached base on a Joshua Palacios single and scored on a Brian Reynolds triple to center field. In his fourth at-bat, Bae retired the side on a line drive to center field, but his bat exploded again in his fifth at-bat.
With runners on first and third in the top of the seventh inning with the score 11-9, Bae crushed a low slider from Alexis Diaz into the gap in left-center field. Runners on first and third came home, and Pittsburgh extended its lead to 13-9. On the next play, he tried to steal third base, and while he was safe, he couldn’t beat the speed and crossed the plate for the out. The play was reviewed on video, but the call was overturned.
The defense didn’t let up either. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cincinnati’s Jonathan India hit a high fly ball toward right field and second base, and Bae sprinted out of the infield and into the outfield to make a “basket catch”. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t make it into his glove, but it showed the kind of mindset he was playing with.
On this day, Pittsburgh pulled off a thrilling ‘come-from-behind’ victory, and Bae was at the center of it all. Pittsburgh was down by eight runs (eight earned) on nine hits, including three home runs, in two innings of work by Bailey Palter, and Kyle Nicholas, who took over for Barton in the third inning, also gave up a run, making it 0-9 at the end of the third. But the game wasn’t over until it was over.
Pittsburgh chipped away at the deficit in the top of the fourth inning, scoring a run when Alfonso Rivas hit a chase single after a Zach Swinski walk and a Gerard Triolo single. The gap was too big to close, but Pittsburgh wouldn’t give up. In the sixth inning, the Pirates got a run back when Bae Ji-hwan singled with the bases loaded after back-to-back singles by Triolo and Endy Rodriguez.
Bae’s RBI single sparked the Pittsburgh bats, which started to heat up. In the next at-bat, Palacios singled and Reynolds hit a three-run shot to cut the deficit to 6-9. Then, with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Rivas miraculously tied the game at 9-9 when he swept in all the runners.
Pittsburgh wasn’t satisfied with the tie. With runners on first and second in the eighth inning, Swinski singled and Rivas and Bae Ji-hwan walked to put the game out of reach. Pittsburgh looked to have the win slipping away from them in the eighth and ninth innings, but they were able to hold on to the lead and turn the 13-12 comeback win into their fourth straight.