Kim Hye-sung (26) of the Los Angeles Dodgers has successfully reached base and stolen bases in back-to-back games as the leadoff batter in Triple-A Minor League.
On the 31st (Korean time), Kim Hye-sung made his start as the leadoff center fielder in a game against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas, recording 3 at-bats with no hits.
Leading off in the first inning, Kim Hye-sung struck out on a foul tip to a sinker at 94.9 mph (152.7 km/h) from right-handed starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. He also led off in the third inning, reaching base by being hit by a 91.3 mph (146.9 km/h) sinker from left-handed reliever Brandon Walter. After advancing to second base on a hit-by-pitch of Dalton Rushing, Kim Hye-sung succeeded in stealing third base. This was his first stolen base of the season. However, he did not score due to a failure of subsequent batters.
In the fifth inning with one out, Kim Hye-sung hit a 91 mph (146.5 km/h) sinker from Walter but was caught on a ground ball to the second baseman. With one out and a runner on first base in the seventh inning, he attempted to hit the 94.8 mph (152.6 km/h) four-seam fastball from left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa but ended up hitting into a ground ball that led to the out of the preceding runner. Kim Hye-sung reached first base safely, but the next batter Rushing was caught on a fly ball to left field, ending the inning.
In the ninth inning, with both teams tied at 2-2 and no outs with runners on first and second, Kim Hye-sung successfully executed a sacrifice bunt, setting up a one-out opportunity with runners on second and third. Oklahoma City then saw Logan Van Wey reach base on an automatic intentional walk, and Alex Preeland selected a bases-loaded walk, putting them ahead 3-2. The game ended with the victory for the Comets.
Kim Hye-sung is a South Korean national team infielder who has a career batting average of .304 over 953 games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), with 1,043 hits from 3,433 at-bats, 37 home runs, 386 RBIs, 591 runs scored, and 211 stolen bases, boasting an OPS of .767. Last winter, he successfully entered Major League Baseball by signing a 3+2-year contract for a maximum of $22 million (approximately 32.4 billion won) with the Dodgers. However, he recorded a batting average of .270 over 15 spring training games (29 at-bats, 6 hits) with 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 6 runs, and 2 stolen bases, and began the season in the Minor League Triple-A without making it to the Tokyo Series.
Aiming for his Major League debut, Kim Hye-sung went hitless in 4 at-bats in the opening game of the Minor League Triple-A on the 29th, but he performed well in the game on the 30th with 2 hits in 3 at-bats, 4 RBIs, 1 run, and 2 walks. In that game, although he could not carry over the batting rhythm from the previous game, he succeeded in his first stolen base of the season and executed the final sacrifice bunt operation effectively, fulfilling his role. His Minor League statistics show a batting average of .200 (10 at-bats, 2 hits), 4 RBIs, 1 run, and 1 stolen base, with an OPS of .885.
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