By Oh Sang-jin Reporter= “Korean major leaguer” Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) showed off his hot bat for the second straight day.

On June 26 (KST), Kim went 2-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, starting at first base and batting second. It was his second straight multi-hit game, following a multi-hit game the day before (3-for-5, two doubles, two home runs), and raised his season batting average from .270 to .272.

After leading off the bottom of the first inning, Kim took a three-pitch, high-course cutter from Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill and flied out to center field.

In the bottom of the second, with the score tied 1-1 and runners on second and third, Kim swung at a four-pitch sinker but was unable to get a hit as he flied out to left field.

The hit he’d been waiting for came in the fifth inning. With San Diego leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Kim was at a disadvantage with an 0-2 pitch count. But despite the fact that Hill’s main weapon, a curveball, had a big drop outside the strike zone, Kim made a technical hit that cleared the shortstop’s key.

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After advancing to second on a Fernando Tatis Jr. single, Kim stole third on a double steal with runners on first and second. With his 19th stolen base of the season, Kim was within striking distance of reaching the 20-steal plateau. However, he was unable to score on the ensuing at-bat.

In the seventh inning, Kim once again used his excellent bat control to create a hit. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Kim saw two pitches from Pittsburgh pitcher Yerry De Los Santos and was down 0-2 in the count. After fouling off a three- and four-pitch sinker, Kim saw a five-pitch slider just outside the zone and lightly placed his bat on it for a technical hit that followed a similar course to his first hit.

Kim then went for his 20th stolen base of the season. The throw from the catcher was high and had a chance to be successful, but shortstop Alyssa Williams’ glove touched Kim’s foot on her head-first slide and she was called out.

With the bases loaded and San Diego leading 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Kim stepped up to the plate for the final time. He was down 0-2 against Pittsburgh pitcher Dauri Moretta, but he calmly walked three straight pitches to work a full count. Kim took a six-pitch slider and lined it sharply to center field, but the ball traveled 385 feet (about 117.3 meters) and was caught on the warning track.바카라사이트

After not being in the starting lineup for four consecutive games, Choi made a surprise appearance as a pinch hitter. Leading off the seventh inning in place of Leover Peguero, Choi uncharacteristically worked a full count against San Diego pitcher Steven Wilson, but he struck out swinging on a six-pitch sweeper.

Meanwhile, San Diego defeated Pittsburgh 5-1 behind homers by Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Gary Sanchez and a six-hit, one-run performance by starter Blake Snell to snap a two-game losing streak.