South Korean Major League Baseball (MLB) players Song Sung-moon (29, San Diego Padres) and Kim Ha-seong (30, Atlanta Braves) are struggling to secure regular playing time.

Song remained on the bench and did not play in the away game against the Arizona Diamondbacks held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 7 (Korean time).

While he entered as a late-game substitute the previous day to record one walk and one run, he did not leave the dugout at all this time.

His season stats stand at a batting average of 0.208 (22 hits in 106 at-bats) with one home run and 15 RBIs across 55 games.

San Diego, third in the National League (NL) West, defeated the second-place Diamondbacks 5-1 to pull within one game of them.


Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta Braves) did not play in the home game against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, remaining on the bench for the third consecutive game.

Atlanta cruised to an 11-3 victory, pounding out 14 hits, including two home runs by Ronald Acuña Jr.

Extending their winning streak to eight games, Atlanta reached the 70-win mark (45 losses) and firmly maintained first place in the NL East.

Although Kim returned to the big leagues after being activated from the injured list (IL) on August 4, he has completely fallen behind in the competition for the starting lineup.

Having landed on the IL twice this season, Kim continues to suffer from a severe slump, batting 0.068 (5 hits in 73 at-bats) with no home runs and 3 RBIs in 27 games.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)