Awesome Kim is back. Kim’s performance led San Diego to a big win.
Kim Ha-seong went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2023 Major League Baseball home game at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on May 25 (KST).
After a hitless night the day before (three strikeouts), Kim caught fire, not only with a hit in two games, but with his first multi-hit game in nine games since his last at-bat against the Houston Astros on Sept. 9.
San Diego’s lineup was Xander Bogaerts (designated hitter), Ha-Sung Kim (shortstop), Juan Soto (left field), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field), Luis Camposano (catcher), Garrett Cooper (first base), Matthew Batten (second base), Rosario Egui (third base), and Jose Asoka (center field). Michael Wacha started on the mound.
St. Louis started Drew Rom on the mound. The lineup was Ras Nuba (center field), Tommy Edmon (second base), Paul Goldschmidt (designated hitter), Jordan Walker (right field), Ricky Palacios (left field), Luke Baker (first base), Ivan Herrera (catcher), Irving Lopez (third base), and Maysin Wynn (shortstop).
In the top of the first inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Kim took a five-pitch fastball on a two-pitch, two-strike count and sent it into the right field seats.
He got lucky as St. Louis right fielder Jordan Walker made a fielding error that cost him the ball. Kim advanced to second base. The official score was recorded as a fielding error by the right fielder. He then came home to score on Juan Soto’s three-run home run.
In his second at-bat of the inning, Kim reached on a fielding error. After hitting a grounder to third base with two outs, Kim reached first base on a throwing error by St. Louis third baseman Irving Lopez, which allowed Xander Bogaerts to score from third and Kim to advance to second. However, the play was ruled a fielding error and Kim was not credited with an RBI.
In the fourth inning, Kim delivered a big hit. With the bases loaded and the count 2-1, he took a four-pitch sinker for a double to left field. He came home on Soto’s double.
In the fifth, he hit a slider on a two-pitch, two-strike at-bat, but it was caught in the shortstop’s glove and stayed straight up.
In the seventh inning, he led off with a clean single to right field to complete his multi-hit game.
Kim’s season batting average rose to .266 from .264. His OPS is 0.766.
The San Diego offense pounded out 18 hits and two home runs on the day. Soto hit his 33rd home run of the season, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored, while Luis Camposano also had a three-hit game. Jose Azocar hit his second home run of the season. In addition to Kim, Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr, Matthew Batten and Eddie Rosario had multi-hit games.카지노
San Diego starter Michael Wacka earned his 13th win of the season with seven innings of six-hit ball, one walk, six strikeouts and two runs. The bullpen of Rich Hill (one scoreless inning) and Jose Espada (one scoreless inning) sealed the win.
While the Padres are out of contention for a postseason berth, they’ve made a huge push down the stretch. They are 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 77-79 on the season and are just over the .500 mark.
For St. Louis, starter Drew Rom took the loss, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits with one walk and four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Tommy Hyun-Soo Edmon went 0-for-2 on the day, batting second.
San Diego, meanwhile, will open a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on April 26. They will then have a day off before closing out the regular season with a three-game road trip against the Chicago White Sox.