Versatile infielder Kim Hye-seong of the MLB Los Angeles Dodgers showed his presence by recording a hit, a walk and a stolen base.
The Dodgers defeated the Texas Rangers 6-3 in a home game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on the 12th (Korean time).
Kim Hye-seong, who started for the second straight day, recorded a hit for the first time in two games. His batting line for the day was 3 at-bats, 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Not only did he get a hit, he calmly drew a walk and recorded his first stolen base of the season. Kim Hye-seong's season batting average fell slightly from .375 to .364.
The Dodgers set the lineup as Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Kyle Tucker (right fielder), Will Smith (catcher), Freddie Freeman (first baseman), Max Muncy (third baseman), Teoscar Hernández (left fielder), Andy Pages (center fielder), Alex Freeland (second baseman) and Kim Hye-seong (shortstop).
Amid fierce competition, Kim Hye-seong, who earned an opportunity, started the previous day's game and went 0-for-1 with one RBI. He drove in one run but did not record a hit.
Kim Hye-seong showed very good hitting form in six Triple-A games before his big league call-up due to Mookie Betts' injury, hitting .346 with 2 RBIs, 4 walks, a .438 on-base percentage, a .385 slugging percentage and an .823 OPS.
He had to show that he can succeed in the majors. Manager Dave Roberts recently said, "His footing looks much better. His swing motion is much more natural. He looks very good," and Kim Hye-seong lived up to expectations.
In his first plate appearance in the second inning with one out and no runners, Kim Hye-seong flied out to left field. In his second plate appearance in the fourth inning, he drew a walk. With one out and no runners, he worked the count on Texas' hard-throwing starter Jack Leiter to a 6th pitch, and handled a low slider on the inside well.
Kim Hye-seong walked to first and then stole a base during Ohtani's plate appearance. But Ohtani struck out swinging and Tucker was retired on an infield fly, so the play did not result in a run.
Kim Hye-seong recorded a hit in the bottom of the sixth. With one out and no runners, Pages drew a walk and stole a base. After Freeland struck out swinging, with two outs and a runner on second, Kim Hye-seong hit an infield hit.
Texas shortstop Corey Seager prevented the ball from getting to the outfield, but the ball was hit deep enough that he could not make the play on Kim Hye-seong. Kim Hye-seong's infield hit gave the Dodgers a 2-out, 1st-and-3rd opportunity, but Ohtani struck out and they failed to score.
Kim Hye-seong came to the plate once more in the eighth with two outs and no runners while the team led 6-3. But after facing a cutter and a splitter, he was helpless against a 94-mph four-seam fastball.
The Dodgers' starter Emmett Sheehan allowed a solo home run to Brandon Nimmo in the top of the first. But in the bottom of the first, Ohtani hit a game-tying solo shot, and Hernández followed with a go-ahead three-run homer.
The Dodgers added one more run in the third, and although Sheehan gave up a two-run homer in the top of the sixth, they held the lead without further runs allowed. In the bottom of the eighth, Pages delivered a valuable run-scoring hit.<
[OSEN]