San Diego Padres outfielder Ha-Sung Kim, 28, stole his 36th base of the season but went 0-for-4 for the second straight game.
Kim started at first base and went 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday (June 16) at Levi’s Center Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.
After going 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14, Kim went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. His season batting average dropped from 2-for-6 to 2-for-6 (132 hits in 497 at-bats) and his OPS dropped from .771 to .764. In September, he was 1-for-6 (8-for-50).
However, in the sixth inning, he stole his 36th base of the season after leading off with a walk. During the steal, his left foot caught the base and he was in pain, but the injury was not serious. In the eighth inning, after making a backhanded catch in defense, he made a light running throw to first for the out, indicating that he was fine.
Apparently tired, Kim goes 2-for-4 with a walk, ‘batting .160 in September’
In his first at-bat against Oakland left-hander Sean Newcomb, Kim lined out to center field. Five pitches later, he swung at a 92.3 mph (148.5 km/h) four-seam fastball high in the zone and hit a 102.3 mph (164.6 km/h) hard hit that sailed straight over the center field fence.
In the second inning, he struck out swinging with the bases loaded. In a seven-pitch at-bat, he fouled off a 93.6 mph (150.6 km/h) four-seam fastball that was high and out of the zone.
In the fourth inning, he had a walk-off hit. With the bases loaded, he swung at a 93.1 mph sinker on the body of the first pitch from Oakland right-hander Adrian Martinez but got a one-bounce grounder to third base. 5-4-3 double play.
He walked in the sixth, but struck out again in the eighth. On a 1-2 pitch count, Martinez’s five-pitch low changeup outside the zone got away from him.
In his final at-bat of the ninth, he hit a four-pitch outside low changeup from right-hander Devin Sweet, but grounded out to the shortstop. He’s in a deep September slump, batting 1-for-6 (8-for-50).
After stealing a base, he broke his left foot…but he played until the end without being replaced.
Although he showed his presence at the plate, he was still active in the field. In the sixth inning, Kim walked to start the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch by the next batter, Fernando Tatis Jr. Kim stole his 36th base of the season with a bent-leg slide. It was his second stolen base in as many games, the first coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 12. Stole seven bases in 12 games in September despite his hitting slump. No stolen bases.
Kim’s 36 stolen bases are the fifth-most by a San Diego player since 2000. Behind Dave Roberts (49) in 2006, Evers Cabrera (44) in 2012, Cameron Maybin (40) in 2011 and Cabrera (37) in 2013. He needs four more in the remaining 14 games of the season to reach 40 steals, which isn’t impossible at his recent pace.
But the stealing process was dizzying. Instead of his usual head-first slide, he slid into second base with a bent-leg slide. I stuck out my right foot first, but my back foot crashed into the base from the acceleration. Kim stumbled to his feet and limped to second base. San Diego manager Bob Melvin and the team trainer rushed to second base to check on him.
Following the trainer’s instructions, Kim did a couple of in-place jumps and took a quick run to the outfield before giving the “OK” sign. He kept running without a change. At second base, he extended his lead and got on Martinez’s nerves. He even took his foot off the plate before Martinez threw the third pitch.
Kim also made a good play at second base. In the eighth inning, he backhanded a grounder that slipped past Ryan Noda’s pitcher’s glove and threw to first for the out. It was a play that signaled that the ankle was not a major issue. In the bottom of the ninth inning, he got two more ground ball outs.
Tatis’ 25th homer, a silent Kim explosion, gives San Diego its second straight win
Ha-Sung Kim was silenced, but the San Diego offense exploded for 11 hits in an 8-3 victory. With their second straight victory, the Padres belatedly reached the 70-win plateau for the season (78 losses). Oakland, which lost its second straight, dropped to 46-101.스포츠토토
Tatis went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, his 25th of the season, in the first inning, with three RBIs and two walks. Xander Bogaerts, Matthew Batten and Jose Azocar also had multi-hit games with two hits apiece. Azocca hit his first career home run on a three-run arch in the ninth inning with a 5-3 lead.
San Diego starter Seth Lugo earned his seventh win of the season with a quality start, allowing three runs on five hits (two homers) and one walk while striking out seven in six innings.