For the second straight year, the San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim (28) exploded for double-digit home runs. It was the decisive blast that knocked Cincinnati Reds superstar rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott (24) off the mound.바카라
Kim batted first and second in the lineup against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, on 3 March (TUES) and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, his 10th of the season, in the eighth inning.
With his second straight game with a hit, Kim improved his season batting average slightly from 2-for-5 to 2-for-8 (66 hits in 256 at-bats).
In his first at-bat in the first inning against Cincinnati rookie left-hander Abbott, Kim hit a 92.7 mph four-seam fastball three pitches up and away but flied out to left field.
In his second at-bat of the inning, he was hit by a five-pitch low changeup outside. Shortstop grounded out.
In his third at-bat of the sixth, he drew a six-pitch full-count walk with Abbott. But on the ensuing at-bat, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a line drive up the middle that Cincinnati shortstop Matt McLain picked off and glove-tossed to second base, where second baseman Jonathan India made a bare-handed catch with his right hand and beat the throw to second base with the tip of his right foot. Kim made a head-first sliding catch but was a second too late. After video review, he was ruled out.
San Diego went scoreless in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Nelson Cruz and Trent Grisham walked Abbott with two outs, but Kim changed the game.
He lined a 92.3 mph (148.5 km/h) four-seam fastball high in the zone from Abbott over the left field fence without missing a beat. It was a blow to Abbott, who was coming off a no-hitter with a career-high 12 strikeouts.
It was Kim’s 10th home run of the season, measuring 104 mph (167.4 km/h), 383 feet (116.7 metres) and a 19-degree launch angle. It was his second straight year of double-digit home runs, following 11 last year. With five homers in his last 10 games, Kim is arithmetically on pace for 19. 20 homers is not out of the question.
He also made an impressive play at second base. In the second inning, he picked off Jake Pralley’s deep fly ball to right, then spun around and made an off-balance throw to first base for the out. In the eighth, he leapt on a slow grounder from Spencer Steer and made a running throw to first for the out.
Despite Ha-Sung Kim’s defensive performance, San Diego lost the game 3-4. In the eighth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. followed Kim with his 16th home run of the season, a back-to-back solo shot to left field off reliever Lucas Sims, to tie the game at 2-2, but the bullpen collapsed in the bottom of the inning.
With two outs, Nick Martinez gave up a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson for the game-winning run. Cincinnati manager David Bell made the gamble of pulling veteran star Joey Votto for a pinch-hitter, and it paid off. San Diego had a chance to tie the game two batters later in the ninth on a Gary Sanchez single and a Jake Cronenweth RBI double, but pinch-hitter Lugned O’Dowd was thrown out at second straight.
San Diego, which finished a three-game series against Cincinnati with a 1-2 record, has now lost four straight. With a 38-46 record, the Padres are fourth in the National League (NL) West. Cincinnati remained in first place in the NL Central with a 45-39 record. Abbott, who started for Cincinnati, was blown out of the game but picked up the win with 7⅔ innings of four-hit, one-run ball with 12 strikeouts. He is 4-0 with a 1.21 ERA in six starts.