Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) shined in the Korean Derby, recording multiple hits and pushing his season batting average back over .300.
Song Sung-moon (30, San Diego Padres), making his first start in this four-game series, went hitless.
On Monday, Lee started as the fifth batter and right fielder in an away game against San Diego at Petco Park in California. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
After seeing his average dip below .300 with a 1-for-5 performance the previous day, Lee’s multi-hit game boosted his average from .298 to .301.
Lee caught a break in his first at-bat. In the second inning, with one out and bases empty, he faced former NC Dinos pitcher Kyle Hart.
Lee hit a slow roller toward second base that San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth couldn’t handle cleanly. It was ruled an infield hit for Lee, not an error on Cronenworth.
Lee immediately swiped second for his seventh stolen base of the season but was stranded there as his teammates failed to bring him home.
Trailing 0-4, San Francisco mounted a comeback in the fourth inning, plating two runs with Lee playing a key role.
With one out and runners on first and second, Lee was hit by a sinker from reliever JP Sears to load the bases. The Giants then scored on Wilmer Flores’ Rub-Batted In (RBI) single and Mike Yastrzemski’s groundout.
After flying out to shortstop in the sixth, Lee created a golden opportunity in the eighth with his team down 4-5.
With two outs and nobody on, Lee battled through an eight-pitch at-bat against Brent Honeywell Jr. before slapping an outside changeup the other way.
The ball snuck through the vacated left side of the infield for a double. San Diego left fielder Luis Campusano’s throwing error allowed Lee to take third on the play.
However, Flores struck out to end the threat, and the Giants ultimately fell 4-5.
The loss was San Francisco’s third straight, leaving them in fourth place in the NL West at 47-65. Third-place San Diego improved to 58-54.
Song, finally getting a start at third base and batting ninth in the series finale, struggled mightily. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Now hitless in his last eight games, Song’s season average has plummeted to .204.