Two Korean major leaguers active in the United States played an active part in unison despite the team’s defeat. Choi Ji-man hit his first home run of the season, and Kim Ha-seong kept his pride by breaking the opponent’s no-hit.
Pittsburgh Pirates Choi Ji-man started as the designated hitter number 5 in the game against the Houston Astros held at Pittsburgh PNC Park on the 11th (Korean time) and recorded 1 hit and 1 home run in 4 at-bats. The team lost 8-2 even with only Choi’s home run.
Choi Ji-man, who settled in Pittsburgh through injuries and trades last year, had a difficult winter. He made the final roster for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but returned the Taegeuk mark for the first time in his life to the opposition of his team, and also lost the salary adjustment committee.스포츠토토
He had to prove his worth with his performance, but he didn’t like it. Since the opening, he has been steadily entering the plate, but until this day, he had only one hit and a batting average of only 0.053. It is still early in the season, but it was not strange to be excluded from the lineup right away. Moreover, the starting opponent that day was left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez. Despite this, manager Derek Shelton once again entrusted Choi Ji-man with the central batting line.
Faith worked in the end. With Choi Ji-man trailing 4-0 at the end of the second inning, he hit Valdez’s 153 km/h fastball in his first at-bat without a runner and went over the middle wall. He reported his first cannon and RBI this season with a large home run that reached a distance of 124m.
Choi Ji-man, who was often used as a platoon in the Tampa Bay Rays due to the conventional wisdom that he was weak against left-handed pitchers, showed his confidence right after the match. He emphasized, “I am not uncomfortable with meeting a left-handed pitcher,” and “if many opportunities come, he will be able to hit more comfortably.” Bae Ji-hwan, who has been eating rice in one pot since this year, failed to step on the ground that day.
Ha-seong Kim of the San Diego Padres continued his streak of hits. In an away game against the New York Mets, he played second baseman 7 times and struck out in the first at-bat in the second inning. Major League Baseball ‘salary king’ Max Scherzer’s high 152.2km fastball hit him.
The second at-bat in the fifth inning was different. In a situation where there was no runner in the first out, he lightly hit the slider in the middle of Scherzer’s second pitch, leading to a heavy hit. Until then, Pittsburgh’s lineup was tied to a no-hitter with only three walks from Scherzer.
Kim Ha-seong, who added a walk in the 7th inning, recorded hits in the last three games. However, San Diego lost 5-0 as they were tossed by the Mets mound, which led Scherzer to the pitching team.