Kim Ha-seong’s ’16th hit in 16 at-bats’ makes him raise his arms in celebration! Picturesque glove toss is a bonus… Team tries to win four straight ‘8th and 9th games’

Kim Ha-seong (28-San Diego Padres), who had been quiet at the plate in September, added a hit. In addition to his multi-hit game, he also made a beautiful glove toss on defense.

Kim batted first and second for the Padres against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday (July 17) at the Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA, going 1-for-4 with a double, one walk, two strikeouts and one run scored.

In doing so, Kim saw his season batting average drop from 0.266 to 0.265 and his OPS drop slightly from 0.764 to 0.763. However, after his first at-bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 12, Kim broke a four-game, 16-at-bat (14-for-16) hitless silence and started producing hits again.

Kim drew a walk in his first at-bat to get the team on the board, and he followed it up with a double in the fourth inning to set the stage for further scoring opportunities. In the bottom of the ninth, he made a fantastic defensive play to save the game for closer Josh Hader.

Meanwhile, San Diego’s other Korean leaguer, Choi Ji-Man (32), made his return to the major leagues after a 36-day absence. Batting sixth and playing first base, he went 2-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.

San Diego went on to win 5-2. After scoring two runs in the top of the first inning on a Juan Soto sacrifice fly and a Xander Bogaerts RBI single, the Padres added another run in the fourth on a Soto push-button double. With runners on first and second in the fifth, Brett Sullivan singled and scored on a throwing error.

Starting Lineup for San Diego-Oakland on September 17th

• San Diego: Ha-Sung Kim (second base)-Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field)-Juan Soto (left field)-Zander Bogaerts (shortstop)-Luis Camposano (designated hitter)-Joey Choi (first base)-Trent Grisham (center field)-Matthew Batten (third base)-Brett Sullivan (catcher). The starting pitcher is Matt Waldron.
• Oakland: Tony Kemp (left field)-Ryan Noda (first base)-Zack Gelbrecht (second base)-Seth Brown (right field)-Aledmys Diaz (third base)-Lawrence Butler (center field)-Carlos Perez (catcher)-Tyler Soderstrom (designated hitter)-Nick Allen (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Mason Miller.
  Ha-Sung Kim’s ‘first at-bat double’ scores the game’s first run

In the top of the first inning, Kim worked a full count against Oakland starter Miller. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, a 99.1-mile-per-hour fastball deflected off his body and he drew a walk. He advanced to third on the next pitch, a double down the right field line by Tatis.

Kim came home on Soto’s sacrifice fly to right field in the third to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. San Diego answered in the bottom of the inning when Bogart lined a changeup to center field to bring home Tatis. Two batters later, Choi Ji-Man, in his first at-bat of the game, drew a walk, but was unable to follow through with a hit.

Kim Ha-seong came back to bat in the second inning, but the result was somewhat disappointing. Starting with a 3-pitch, 0-strike count in favor of reliever Luis Medina, he watched one strike and then swung at a five-pitch fastball. However, the pitch went straight to the shortstop for an out.
The hit came after 16 at-bats and 14 pitches, and Kim celebrated with open arms.

Leading 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning, San Diego kept the spark alive when Sullivan walked with two outs. Faced with a third chance, Kim was beaten a bit by a sinker on the body, but sent the pitch to the outfield. The ball dropped between center and right field, giving Kim his 14th hit in 16 at-bats. After crossing the plate, Kim raised his arms in the air in celebration.

After Tatis singled to load the bases, San Diego added another run when Soto walked to force in a run.

Kim didn’t get a hit in his next at-bat. With two outs in the fifth, he worked a nine-pitch at-bat, but was eventually stranded on a foul tip. In the top of the eighth, he drew three consecutive fouls to keep the game alive, but this time he struck out on an outside slider.
Heather Salin’s stellar defense in the closing innings secured the team’s third straight win.

Kim took the pressure off the pitcher’s shoulders with some great defense in the final inning. In the bottom of the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead and runners on first and second, closer Heider gave up a line drive to Allen that looked like it would sail over the center field fence. But Kim cut it off at the plate and promptly made a glove toss to shortstop Bogaerts to throw out the runner at first base. 굿모닝토토

Heather smiled and thanked Kim for catching what could have been a hit. In the end, Heider struck out the side for the third out and San Diego held on for the win, and Kim laid the groundwork.

The Padres, who are 71-78 on the season (.477 winning percentage) as of Sunday, have won three straight games. The Padres are the only one of the 30 major league clubs that hasn’t won four or more games in a row this year. Even Kansas City (.318) and Oakland (.311), which have much lower winning percentages than San Diego, have done it, but not San Diego.

They couldn’t keep the streak alive on Friday, either, when starter Rich Hill was knocked around for six runs on seven hits (two homers) in 1 1/3 innings in a four-game sweep. San Diego, which has lost three straight games eight times, will now try to win four in a row for the ninth time.