'Comet express' Kim Hye-seong (LA Dodgers) showed prospects for a starting spot by swinging a hot bat from the first exhibition game.
Kim Hye-seong started at second base and batted sixth in the Dodgers' first spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on the 22nd (Korean time) in the 2026 Major League Baseball season, and put on a brilliant performance with two hits in three at-bats, three RBIs and one run scored.
Kim Hye-seong came to the plate for the first time in the top of the first with two outs and the bases loaded in a 0-0 game. Shohei Ohtani had earlier reached on an infield hit, Teoscar Hernández had a single to center, and Santiago Espinal had drawn a four-pitch walk to set up the bases-loaded opportunity.
Facing Angels starter right-hander José Soriano, Kim Hye-seong battled through a grueling at-bat that went to an 8th pitch after falling behind 1-2. After three consecutive fouls from a 1-1 count, he worked two consecutive balls. On Soriano's 8th pitch, a 98.7-mile (159km) four-seam fastball, he drove it to left field for a two-run go-ahead RBI single. It was a blow that chased Soriano from the mound.
Kim Hye-seong took advantage of a wild pitch by reliever Ryan Costeiu to advance to second, but after Alex Freeland drew a walk, Ryan Ward struck out swinging, and he was left stranded without scoring.
His second at-bat came in the top of the second with one out and runners on first and third, the Dodgers leading 6-0. From a 1-1 count, he attacked left-hander Mitch Parris' 3rd pitch, a 92.4-mile (148km) four-seam fastball, and lined an RBI single that dropped in front of center field. Following his first at-bat, he again drove in a run with an RBI single, which also forced the pitcher from the game.
After taking second on Freeland's walk, Kim Hye-seong scored when Jack Erhardt delivered a two-run double.
With the Dodgers leading 10-2, Kim Hye-seong faced left-hander Sam Aldeguer in the top of the third with one out and runners on first and third. Down 0-2, after consecutive fouls he watched one ball to extend his life, but he struck out swinging on a 6th pitch that came in high on the outside, a 91.6-mile (147km) four-seam fastball.
Kim Hye-seong handed the baton to Ryan Fitzgerald in the bottom of the fifth with the Dodgers leading 10-2 and finished his first spring training game in good spirits.
The Dodgers beat the Angels 15-2 to record their first win of spring training.
Yamamoto Yoshinobu, the 'World Series MVP,' who started on the mound, loosened up with 1 2/3 innings, three hits allowed, three strikeouts and two runs (one earned), and Ohtani started as the No. 1 designated hitter, going 1-for-3 with a run scored. Hernández's performance of three hits in three at-bats with one RBI and three runs also stood out. The Dodgers, without a homer, produced 16 hits and capped their first spring training game with a rout.
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