KOR
▲ San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo
Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants hit his fourth home run of the season in a "Korean Derby" matchup against Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves.
Lee started as the No. 5 hitter and right fielder in a suspended Major League Baseball (MLB) game against Atlanta at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday (June 18), going 1-for-3 with one home run, two RBIs, and one run scored.
Lee, who added a home run 34 days after hitting an inside-the-park home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 15, increased his season home run tally to four.
In the second game that followed, he also started as the No. 5 hitter and right fielder but went hitless in four at-bats.
His batting average for the season dropped to .325 (82-for-252).
His overall MLB batting average rank is third, behind Otto Lopez (.336, Miami Marlins) and teammate Luis Arraez (.326).
The first game of the day was played as a suspended game after being halted by rain the previous day before the bottom of the second inning could begin.
The previous day, Lee drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center field with one out and bases loaded in the top of the first inning.
In the first game, leading off the top of the third inning with a 3-2 lead, Lee popped out to shortstop against starting pitcher Grant Holmes.
With two outs in the top of the fifth and a 4-2 lead, he pulled a first-pitch, high 150.7 km/h (93.6 mph) sinker from reliever Dylan Dodd over the right-field wall for a solo home run.
He led off the top of the eighth but flew out to center field.
In the second game, with two outs and a runner on second in the top of the first, he faced starter JR Ritchie. With a 2-1 count, he hit a 142.4 km/h (88.5 mph) cutter over the middle of the plate well, but popped out to first base.
After flying out to left field in the top of the third and grounding out to second base in the top of the sixth, Lee grounded out to second again with one out and a runner on second in the top of the eighth with a 5-2 lead.
San Francisco won the first and second games 7-2 and 7-5, respectively, extending their winning streak to three games.
They remained in fourth place in the National League (NL) West with a 31-43 record.
Meanwhile, Atlanta, which fell into a three-game losing streak, maintained its lead in the NL East with a 46-27 record.
In the first game, Kim Ha-seong started as the No. 9 hitter and right fielder, going 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts.
Going hitless for four consecutive games, his season batting average also dropped to .085 (5-for-59).
After striking out in the bottom of the second and fifth innings and flying out to left field in the bottom of the seventh, Kim drew a walk with one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing 7-2.
He failed to advance as the following batters failed to record a hit.
In the subsequent second game, he entered as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh with the team trailing 5-2, but was substituted again during the bottom of the eighth, failing to make a plate appearance.
Song Sung-mun of the San Diego Padres recorded a hit for the first time in three games on this day.
In an away game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, he entered as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the seventh and went 1-for-1 with one run scored.
His season batting average rose to .196 (9-for-46).
Leading off the top of the ninth with a 3-1 lead, Song hit a 145.3 km/h (90.3 mph) cutter over the middle of the plate from the opponent's fourth pitcher, Chris Roycroft, which deflected off the second baseman's glove and fell in front of the right fielder for a hit.
He later crossed home plate to score on a subsequent hit.
San Diego won the game 6-1.
They maintained second place in the NL West with a 38-35 record.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
