Is 164 km/h real? In the fastball parade of starters and finishers, Ha-seong Kim’s bat had no choice but to stop. Ha-seong “Awesome Kim” Kim (28) of the San Diego Padres struggled with no hits. Ha-seong Kim started as the first hitter and second baseman in the 2023 major league home game against the Baltimore Orioles held at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA on the 15th (hereinafter Korean time). The home team of San Diego on this day was Kim Ha-seong (2nd baseman) – Fernando Tatis Jr. (right fielder) – Juan Soto (left fielder) – Manny Machado (3rd baseman) – Xander Bogatz (shortstop) – Jake Cronenworth (1st baseman) – Luis Campusano ( Catcher) – Garrett Cooper (designated hitter) – Trent Grisham (center fielder) and starting pitcher Darvish Yu.
Against this, Baltimore, the visiting team, Adley Luchman (catcher), Gunner Henderson (shortstop), Anthony Sandender (right fielder), Ryan O’Heon (1baseman), Ryan Mountcastle (designated hitter), Cedric Mullins (center fielder), Ramon Urie Ars (third baseman) – Aaron Hicks (left fielder) – Jordan Westberg (second baseman) and starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez completed the starting lineup. On this day, Kim Ha-seong’s ‘hit factory’ stopped. A parade of fastballs by Baltimore starters and finishers prevented Kim Ha-sung from producing hits. Kim Ha-seong, who appeared as the lead batter at the end of the first inning, was declared a strike when Rodriguez’s 99-mile (158 km) four-seam fastball went outward. However, the result was a pitcher grounder out. It was the result of hitting a 101-mile (163 km) four-seam fastball that came in on the fifth pitch. San Diego produced the first hit of the game as Tatis Jr. hit right-handed but failed to score first as Soto stopped shortstop double play.
Darvish, who passed the first inning scoreless, threw a 5-pitch 85-mile (137 km) sweeper at lead batter Oh Heon in the beginning of the second inning, but hit a superior solo home run and gave up the first run. Oh Heon hit his 10th home run of the season. San Diego also had a chance to run second and third base in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a hit by Bogatz to the left and an error by left fielder Hicks, but the inning had to end without scoring as Campusano stopped shortstop on a fly ball. It was the same that San Diego did not score in the attack at the bottom of the 3rd inning. With Cooper out with a fly ball out in left field and Grisham out with a ground ball out to second baseman, Kim Ha-seong had to take his second at-bat without a runner with two outs. This time, Kim Ha-seong, who played a full count against Rodriguez, hit an 86 mile (138 km) changeup that came in on the 7th pitch, but was unable to reach base as he withdrew due to a foul fly-out by the first baseman.
San Diego’s lackluster offense continued into the bottom of the 4th inning. Tatis Jr. and Soto struck out side by side, and Machado also ended up with a fly out for second baseman. Then Darvish shook. In the top of the 5th inning, Darvish, who was facing a one-run crisis with a right-handed hit to Hicks, a right-handed hit to Westburg, and a walk to Luchman, was hit with a right-handed double by Henderson, giving him a 0-4 lead. In short, it was a sweeping double hit. In the bottom of the 5th inning, San Diego’s lethargic attacks continued with Bogatz’s fly out to left field, Cronenworth’s pitcher’s ground ball out, and Campusano’s fly out to center field.
At the beginning of the 6th inning, a new Asian record was created. Darvish set a new record for the most strikeouts in the individual career of an Asian major leaguer by striking out three pitches from Urias with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. The ball that made history was the 95 mph (153 km) four-seam fastball. Darvish, who recorded 1,919 strikeouts in his career, surpassed Nomo Hideo’s 1,918 and became the protagonist of a new record. Nomo, who was famous for his ‘Tornado’ pitching form, was a player who recorded 123 wins, 109 losses and an average ERA of 4.24 during his active career. Park Chan-ho, the “Korean Express,” who has one more win than his mother and holds the record for the most wins in the Asian major leagues, recorded 124-98 with an ERA of 4.36 and 1,715 strikeouts.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, San Diego, which had been silent, managed to stretch with a solo home run by lead batter Cooper in the middle of the month. It was Cooper’s 14th home run of the season. Kim Ha-seong, who entered the plate with Grisham striking out and no runners in the first run, played a close battle with Rodriguez this time to the ninth pitch, but with a 100-mile (161 km) four-seam fastball with a foul tip strikeout, Kim Ha-seong suffered the pain of failing to reach base again. suffered Tatis Jr. also struck out. In the bottom of the 7th inning, San Diego went on base with Bogatz walking after two outs, but Cronenworth failed to catch up with the pitcher grounding out. Darvish, who threw 81 pitches through the 7th inning, was replaced by Tom Cosgrove in the top of the 8th. When San Diego fell behind 1-4, he withdrew from the mound and could not form a relationship with the winning pitcher. On this day, Darvish marked a season average ERA of 4.24, leaving 4 runs with 8 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts in 7 innings.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, as the lead batter Campusano reached base with an infield hit to the second baseman, San Diego seemed to have a chance to catch up, but Cooper, who hit a home run in the previous at-bat, splashed cold water on the third baseman, second baseman, and first baseman with a double hit. 안전놀이터 I had to get frustrated once. Grisham retired due to a flyout by center fielder, and San Diego’s attack in the bottom of the 8th inning ended in vain. Baltimore put Felix Batista, the All-Star closer, on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Kim Ha-seong came to the plate as the lead batter. Kim Ha-seong, who hit a 102-mile (164 km) four-seam fastball that entered the 5th ball count 2B 2S, swallowed regret as it ended up being a catcher foul fly-out. Even the last hope for a hit is gone.
San Diego struggled to score somehow. Tatis Jr. went on base with a walk and succeeded in stealing second base, succeeding in stealing the 20th base of the season, while Soto chose a walk and had a chance to run 1st and 2nd base. However, Machado ended up with a double hit from third baseman to second baseman and first baseman, and the game ended with a 1-4 loss to San Diego. Kim Ha-seong, who went 0-hit in 4 at-bats that day, saw his season batting average drop to .283 and OPS to .821. His season performance was .283 batting average, .377 on-base percentage, .444 slugging percentage, and .821 OPS with 15 homers, 42 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. In the last three games, including this game, he is struggling with 1 hit in 12 at-bats. In the match against the Arizona Diamondbacks the previous day (14th), he recorded 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 run in 4 at-bats.
With the defeat, San Diego’s prospects for advancing to the postseason became even darker, leaving the season record at 56-63. On the other hand, Baltimore is cruising for first place in the American League East Division with 74 wins and 45 losses. Both the winning pitcher and the save belonged to the two pitchers who harassed Kim Ha-seong. Rodriguez won his 3rd win (3rd loss) of the season with 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 1 run, and succeeded in lowering his season ERA to 5.44. Batista earned his 32nd save of the season by allowing two walks in one inning, but kept it scoreless. Batista’s season ERA was lowered to 1.57.
On the other hand, Darvish could not avoid the pain of becoming a losing pitcher even though he had a meaningful game in which he set a new Asian record. 8 losses (8 wins) of the season. Meanwhile, on this day, San Diego sent Korean left-handed batter Choi Ji-man to the 10-day disabled list. Choi Ji-man had to take a break for the time being due to a sprained rib on his left side. Choi Ji-man, who last played against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 12th and had no record of appearances, left a regret after being traded to San Diego with no hits in 11 at-bats. San Diego made a 3-to-2 trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of the trade deadline, signing Choi Ji-man and veteran left-handed pitcher Rich Hill. After sending Choi Ji-man to the injured list, San Diego called up left-handed outfielder Ben Gamel from Triple-A.