grapplegraphics.com Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego), whose batting skills had been on a somewhat downward trend since September, came back to life twice and led the team’s offense and victory. Choi Ji-man (31, San Diego), who made his first appearance since returning from injury, also made his return. However, he failed to report his first hit in San Diego.
San Diego won 5-2 in the game against Oakland held at the Oakland Coliseum in California on the 17th (Korean time) thanks to a focused batting line and a stable mound from the beginning of the game. San Diego, which had virtually only a mathematical possibility of being eliminated from the postseason, recorded three consecutive wins and recorded a season record of 71 wins and 78 losses.
Ha-seong Kim recorded 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts in 4 at-bats on this day. The season batting average fell slightly from 0.266 to 0.265, but the season on-base percentage remained at 0.356. Unfortunately, Choi Ji-man’s batting average for the season fell further from 0.179 to 0.174, with no hits in 2 at-bats and 1 walk. However, thanks to one walk, his season on-base percentage rose from 0.239 to 0.242.
San Diego, whose two key starting players, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, have already had their seasons ended due to injuries, took the team’s early lead with Matt Waldron, who took over as a substitute starter on this day, pitching relatively well, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 5⅓ innings. He led the team and became the winning pitcher. The bullpen that followed also did a good job blocking Oakland’s pursuit.
Overall, the early performance of the batting lineup was good. Leadoff Kim Ha-seong opened the attack by recording 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 run in 3 at-bats. #2 Fernando Tatis Jr. led the way with 1 hit and 1 walk, #3 Juan Soto had 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 RBI, and #4 Zander Bogaerts had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Choi Ji-man, who played as the starting 6th first baseman, recorded no hits in 2 at-bats and 1 walk, and ended the game after being replaced by pinch hitter Cooper in the 7th inning.
On the other hand, Oakland’s Mason Miller, who throws one of the best fastballs in the league, suffered from anxiety early on and performed poorly, allowing 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs in one inning. Afterwards, all bullpen pitchers were mobilized, but the worst batting lineup in the league was still helpless.
# September on-base percentage 0.236 Kim Ha-seong returns from injury Choi Ji-man joins the ‘Korean League’ as starters Kim Ha-seong, who
showed off his peak batting skills from mid-June to mid-August and perfectly established himself as the team’s leadoff, has lost his hitting skills since mid-August. This was the situation. He was greatly affected by not being able to rest. Other players were able to focus on their stamina one day at a time by being designated hitters, but in reality, Ha-seong Kim was unable to rest because most of the players who were designated hitters were on defense.
Even San Diego coach Bob Melvin felt sorry and worried about not being able to give Kim Ha-seong a proper rest due to the team’s difficult situation. Kim Ha-seong’s batting average in September was only 0.160 and on-base percentage of 0.236 in 12 games before today’s game. He was just three home runs away from becoming the first Asian infielder to join the 20-20 club, but he had not had a home run since August 22. For Kim Ha-seong, he needed to exert a little more strength to finish the season perfectly.
Choi Ji-man was equally in a hurry. He has been caught up in a swamp of injuries this season. Choi Ji-man had surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow after last year’s season, and as a result, his debut in Pittsburgh, his new team, was delayed. He was traded to San Diego ahead of the trade deadline at the end of July, but suffered from several negative factors, including a left ribcage injury and a bruise after being hit by a batted ball during a rehabilitation game. Ji-Man Choi completed his rehabilitation and was registered on the major league roster on the 16th. Choi Ji-man, who had gone 0-hit and 5 walks in 11 at-bats after transferring to San Diego, desperately needed a rebound in his batting skills.
# Korean Leaguer snow baseball started in the 1st inning, and Kim Ha-seong took the lead.
The starting pitcher for Oakland that day was Miller, a promising pitcher who throws at 100 miles per hour without hesitation. One of the players was one of the best prospects in the league and a player that Oakland was strategically developing. Before today’s game, he had 2 losses and an ERA of 2.84 in 6 games (5 starting games) this season. He struck out 9.9 batters per 9 innings.
However, this promising player’s game that day went wrong from the start. San Diego’s leadoff Kim Ha-seong was a nuisance from the start. Miller threw a cannonball fastball with a maximum speed of 99.1 miles (159.5 km) at Kim Ha-seong’s at-bat. But the control was outstanding overall. Ha-seong Kim watched this calmly. He held on, fouled out on a bad count of 1B-2S, and called time, robbing Miller of his timing. In the end, he got on base, picking off all high pitches from 2B-2S.
San Diego pushed Miller. Bogaerts hit a heavy hit, 먹튀검증 and Tatis Jr., with a runner on second base, hit home to make it 2-0. Luis Campusano struck out, but Choi Ji-man took advantage of the opportunity. Ji-Man Choi repeatedly picked out the ball in the 1S count, showing that his starting pitching plan was alive. The second low ball almost hit Choi Ji-man’s ankle. And one more ball went up due to a pitch clock violation, and the 4th high ball was also hit without issue.
San Diego had Choi Ji-man and the next batter, Trent Grisham, walk, leaving the bases loaded with two outs. However, Matthew Batton struck out and did not score any additional points.
# Choi Ji-man did one thing in defense, Kim Ha-seong’s second on-base completion. Since Kim Ha-seong was
on second base and Choi Ji-man was on first base, scenes of Kim Ha-seong throwing and Choi Ji-man catching began to occur one by one. Oakland dropped Miller after one inning and began holding on by bringing up Luis Medina in the second inning.
Ha-seong Kim, who faced Medina, unfortunately ended up hitting a ground ball to shortstop in the favorable count of 3B in his second at-bat in the second inning. When the 97.1 mile (156.3 km) fastball hit the center on the 5th pitch, he turned the bat, but it did not result in a hit.
Choi Ji-man earned an out with a sensational tag in the second inning on defense. A check came in with one out and one on first base, and Choi Ji-man caught it and followed it up with a soft tag, catching the runner. The original decision was safe, but after video review, it was corrected to out. However, Choi Ji-man hit a curveball that fell on the fifth pitch in his second at-bat in the third inning, but it ended up being a ground ball to first base.
However, Ha-seong Kim’s bat shined again in the 4th inning, leading 2-1. San Diego took advantage of the opportunity with two outs when Brett Sullivan walked, and Ha-seong Kim extended the opportunity with a right-handed hit against Medina. With a count of 1B-1S, the third pitch, a 94.3 mile (151.8 km) sinker, hit the body, but Ha-seong Kim pushed it away and sent the batted ball to the outfield. Although he was not a fast hitter, Kim Ha-seong’s technical hitting stood out.
As Kim Ha-seong continued the trend, San Diego’s Tatis Jr. also drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, and even Soto added one point by picking a push-out walk at the end of a 10-pitch game. It was the decisive deciding factor of the game that day, and it was a scene where you could feel the power of Soto, who is considered to have the best starting pitching plan in the league. The score was also created because Kim Ha-seong’s hit continued the trend.
Ji-Man Choi struck out in his third at-bat in the fifth inning. He competed for a full count, but missed the changeup on the 7th pitch. While San Diego added 2 runs in the 5th inning thanks to an opponent’s error, Ha-seong Kim also retired with a foul tip strikeout after a persistent game that went all the way to 9 pitches in his fourth at-bat in the 5th inning. Perhaps because he missed the opportunity, Ha-seong Kim took off his helmet and prepared to defend in the 6th inning.
# Is Choi Ji-man still in the swamp of Platoon? Ha-seong Kim also had no additional hits,
and Ji-man Choi was replaced by Gerrit Cooper before the seventh inning. He could have been given another chance in his return game, but with the opposing pitcher replaced by left-hander Lucas, the San Diego bench’s judgment was cold. Choi Ji-man, who has been unable to escape the swamp of platooning throughout his career due to the perception that he is weak against left-handers, cried at such prejudice this day as well.
With San Diego leading 5-2, Ha-seong Kim also struck out in his last at-bat in the 8th inning. He survived with two fouls on a bad count of 1B-2S, but was completely fooled by a slider that curved out on the 6th pitch.
However, it had little effect on San Diego’s victory. In San Diego, starting pitcher Waldron pitched 5⅓ innings and went down, followed by Barrow (1⅓ innings) and Suarez (1⅓ innings) to stop Oakland from catching up. Then, in the 9th inning with a 5-2 lead, closer Josh Hader took the mound to end the game and secure a 3-game winning streak.
Ha-seong Kim showed off a stunt defense at the last moment. It was a situation where San Diego was ahead 5-2 with one out and one on first base in the 9th inning. Just before Allen’s batted ball went toward second base and out in front of center field, Ha-seong Kim caught it and connected it to shortstop Bogaerts with a glove toss.
Because it was a reverse action situation, it was not easy to throw to second base. Because it was a bouncy situation, I had no choice but to just keep going toward the shortstop, and then I would have to stop completely and throw to second base, but it was too late to do that. But Ha-seong Kim was different. He made an accurate glove toss while losing momentum in the direction he was moving, and the runner on first base was out at second base. San Diego was shut out with a perfect play that even the local broadcasters couldn’t help but admire.