The San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim, 28, continues to struggle in September.

Starting at first base against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday (Sept. 14) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Kim went 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts. His ninth three-strikeout game of the season.

After playing in 55 consecutive games (54 starts) since the start of the second half, Kim had a honey break the day before (13), but his two-game hitting streak and five-game reaching base streak were both snapped. His season batting average dropped from 2-for-7 to 2-for-6 (132 hits in 492 at-bats) and his OPS dropped from .777 to .771. In 11 games in September, he’s batting 1-for-7 (8-for-45) with an OPS of .423.

San Diego won 6-1 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Dodgers, but it was a disappointing outing for Kim.

Three strikeouts and a three-pitch walk with the bases loaded.

In his first at-bat against Dodgers right-hander Ryan Peavy, Kim struck out swinging. He drew six fouls and battled back to nine pitches, but his outside fastball got away from him on an 88.8 mph (142.9 km/h) slider.

With the bases loaded in the third, he retired on an infield single. On a 1-1 count, he hit a 90.2-mph (145.2-kilometer) slider on the body on the third pitch, but it sailed high to first base.

In the fifth, he struck out swinging with runners on first and second. This time, he went to eight pitches, but another 88.6-mph (142.6-kilometer) slider in the outside zone got away.

The seventh inning’s bases-loaded opportunity was the most frustrating. He faced Dodgers right-hander Joe Kelly for a three-pitch strikeout. After fouling off a first-pitch inside sinker, Kim was forced into a two-strike count on a second-pitch inside sinker. He was frozen in place by a 144.4-mph (89.7 km/h) cutter on the third pitch. Failed to get the bat out and struck out looking. After shaking his head briefly at the plate, Kim walked into the dugout in disappointment.

Snell wins 14th, reclaims ERA lead…Soto hits 30th homer vs. Dodgers

Ha Sung Kim was silent, but San Diego beat the Dodgers 6-1. First sweep of the Dodgers this season. With fall baseball far behind them, fourth-place San Diego is 69-78 in the National League West. The first-place Dodgers are 88-57.

San Diego starter Blake Snell dominated the Dodgers offense with six innings of one-hit ball, one walk and eight strikeouts. Totaled 91 pitches, 54 strikes and 37 balls. He topped out at 97.5 mph (156.9 km/h) and averaged 96 mph (154.5 km/h) with a mix of four-seam fastballs (42), curve (19), changeup and slider (15+).

After giving up a leadoff single to Dodgers No. 1 Mookie Betts in the first inning, Snell retired the next three batters, then put runners in scoring position with two outs in the third on a walk and a stolen base, but induced Freddie Freeman to ground out to first. Settling down to retire the side in order in the fourth through sixth innings, Snell threw six of his eight strikes with his main weapon, his curveball.

The win was Snell’s 14th of the season (9-0) and lowered his ERA from 2.52 to 2.43. Snell, who passed Justin Steele (Chicago Cubs – 2.49) for the NL lead in that category, also ranked first in batting average (.187), second in strikeouts (217) and tied for fifth in wins, solidifying his status as a Cy Young Award frontrunner.스포츠토토

Offensively, Juan Soto hit his 30th home run of the season with a solo shot in the first inning. It was his second career 30-homer season, joining 2019 (34) with the Washington Nationals. Soto went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, while Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI and Luis Camposano went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Campusano, batting fourth for the first time this season, drove in the game-winning run with a three-run homer in the fourth inning.

For the Dodgers, Peppiott suffered his first loss of the season, allowing four runs on six hits (two homers) in six innings with five strikeouts. Colton Wong’s fourth solo home run of the season in the ninth inning was enough to avoid a scoreless loss.