▲ San Diego's Song Sung-mun
San Diego Padres infielder Song Sung-mun recorded a hit and a stolen base against superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Song started as the eighth-place hitter and third baseman in an away game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on July 4 (KST), finishing the game with one hit and one stolen base in three at-bats.
His season batting average rose slightly from .233 to .238 (15 hits in 63 at-bats).
In his first at-bat in the top of the second inning with a 1-0 lead, Song struck out swinging against Ohtani.
After letting a 159 km/h (99 mph) high fastball pass by on the fifth pitch, he failed to time the 140 km/h (87 mph) sweeper that came into the middle of the strike zone on the sixth pitch, resulting in a swing and a miss.
In the top of the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead, he led off the inning and grounded out to second base.
He made contact with a 160 km/h (99 mph) fastball that drifted into the middle of the zone but hit a grounder.
His hit came in the top of the sixth inning, with the lead extended to 3-0.
Stepping up to the plate with two outs and a runner on second, Song hit Ohtani's third pitch, a 159 km/h (99 mph) low fastball, on a 1-1 count. The ball was hit off the end of the bat and headed deep toward the shortstop.
Song ran with all his might and reached first base safely.
He then stole second base, but was unable to reach home plate due to a lack of support from the subsequent hitters.
Song was replaced by a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth inning with the team trailing 3-4, ending his day.
San Diego lost the game 3-4.
Ohtani, pitching as a starter, recorded a no-decision, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks with 9 strikeouts over 6 innings. As a hitter, he went hitless in 3 at-bats.
This season, he holds a record of 8 wins and 2 losses with a 1.79 ERA as a pitcher, and a .288 batting average with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs as a hitter.
Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez became the hero of the day, hitting a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and no outs, turning a 0-3 deficit into a lead.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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