The San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim has recorded 15 consecutive multi-hit games, tying him with “legend” Ichiro Suzuki. If he has a multi-RBI game on the ninth, he will make history as the first Asian player to do so.

Kim Ha-seong started at third base, first base, and designated hitter in the lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on Aug. 8 (KST) and went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

Now, it’s strange to see him go a day without a hit. Kim has been on a tear at the plate since his first “multi-homer” game in the major leagues on March 25 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had hit safely in 12 consecutive games until the previous day (July 7), when he extended his streak to 13 games. Even more noteworthy than the 13-game hitting streak was the multi-hit game.

Starting against the Detroit Tigers on the 23rd of last month, Kim had 14 consecutive multi-hit games until the previous day, moving him into second place on the all-time list behind Asian major league “legend” Ichiro Suzuki (15 games, 2007), and he was able to match Ichiro with a multi-hit game early in the day. The multi-hit game raised his season batting average from .287 to .288, putting him on pace to crack the triple digits, a feat that fewer than 10 players in 30 major league clubs have accomplished.

Kim joins the ranks of ‘3089-hit’ legend Ichiro Suzuki

In his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, with the score tied 0-0, Kim swung at a four-pitch 92.4 mph (148.8 km/h) fastball from Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin in the middle of the strike zone. Kim hit a 98.1 mph (157.8 km/h) fastball that traveled a whopping 363 feet (110.6 meters). If the ball had gone to left or right field, it would have been a home run, but instead, it went to the center field fence, where it sailed over the fence for a home run.

He made up for it in his second at-bat. With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the third inning, Kim took advantage of Gonsolin’s first-pitch slider and lined it into the left-field seats, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. He came around to score on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s RBI double in the next at-bat.

It was in the bottom of the fifth inning that Ichiro stood side-by-side with the “Legend”. In his third at-bat, Kim batted leadoff, and like his previous at-bat, he crushed Gonsolin’s slider, dropping it in front of the center fielder. With the hit, Kim matched Ichiro’s Asian record of 15 consecutive games with multiple hits, set by the Seattle Mariners in 2007.

After the multi-hit game, there were no more hits. In the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and the score 6-13, Kim faced Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly for a four-pitch at-bat, but struck out swinging on a 100.8 mph (162.2 km/h) four-seam fastball.

No hits after the trade, but another standout at the plate

After being acquired from Pittsburgh at the Major League Baseball trade deadline on Aug. 2, Choi made his San Diego debut on Aug. 5 against the Dodgers, sharing the mound with Kim Ha-seong. It was the second time in franchise history that Bae and Choi have started together, after Bae started for Pittsburgh. In his first appearance in San Diego, Choi drew two walks and scored two runs to showcase his “strengths” as a leadoff hitter. It was on full display again in Game 8.

Starting at first base and batting seventh alongside Kim Ha-seong, Choi led off the bottom of the third inning with a 0-0 tie and drew a walk before battling Gonsolin for seven pitches to get on base. San Diego capitalized on Choi’s walk with the bases loaded when Luis Camposano hit a two-pitch slider off Dodgers starter Gonsolin for a leadoff home run, scoring Choi.

Despite the pleasant start to his first at-bat, Choi’s first at-bat after the trade didn’t last long. In his second at-bat with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Choi was retired on a pop fly to third base, and in his third at-bat with runners in scoring position in the sixth inning, trailing 5-14, he was retired on a fly ball to right field. He was replaced by pinch-hitter Matthew Batten in the bottom of the ninth and finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

Shocker’s five-run lead was too much to overcome

San Diego bombarded the Dodgers’ mound early in the game. In the bottom of the third inning, after Choi led off with a walk, Camposano blasted a leadoff homer to center field, and the Dodgers took advantage of back-to-back singles by Trent Grisham and Ha-Sung Kim to put runners on first and second with no outs, before Manny Machado drove in a run with a single of his own to extend the lead to 5-0. But the joy was short-lived.

San Diego starter Seth Lugo, who was cruising, was unable to protect the five-run lead, and the game shifted to the Dodgers. The Dodgers got on the board in the fourth inning when Freddie Freeman led off with a single and Max Muncy followed with a walk. David Peralta, Jason Heyward, and Miguel Rojas followed with RBI singles to pull San Diego within 5-4 before Mookie Betts blasted a walk-off grand slam to swing the game in the Dodgers’ favor.온라인바카

The Dodgers’ scoring streak continued. The Dodgers made it 5-9 in the top of the sixth when Kike Hernandez homered for his first hit as a Dodger. The Dodgers then loaded the bases on a James Outman walk, a Rojas single, a Freeman wild pitch, back-to-back Will Smith-Moncie singles, and a Peralta sacrifice fly for four more runs to make it 5-14.

After the third inning explosion seemed to set the tone, the Padres added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth when Tatis Jr. doubled with two outs and Camposano hit his second arch of the day in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide of a game that was already heavily in their favor. In the end, San Diego was unable to score in the remaining innings, falling 7-13.