Bae Ji-hwan (25) of the Pittsburgh Pirates finally hit his first long ball since the big league call-up. He even achieved multi-base hits, impressing the head coach with a clear impression.
Bae Ji-hwan started as the seventh batter center fielder in the home game of the Arizona Diamondbacks and 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 5th (Korea time) and recorded 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout in 3 at-bats.
Bae Ji-hwan, who hit his first long ball in 15 games this season, raised his batting average for this season from 0.182 to 0.194, and his on-base plus slugging percentage from 0.243 and 0.182 to 0.268 and 0.222. His on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) became 0.490.
Bae Ji-hwan, who was given a limited opportunity after the call-up on the 27th of last month, started again six days after the Houston Astros match on the 30th of last month.
Bae Ji-hwan, who took his first at-bat with no outs and no outs in the top of the second inning when his team was leading 1-0, walked after a game of eight pitches with the opponent’s starting line Nelson. He swung and missed by a fastball outside the first pitch, and the second pitch was also struck by an outside fastball, but later picked up two fouls and four outside balls to get on base. Later, he headed to third base when Yasmani Grandal doubled, followed by Isaiah Kiner-Falefa’s triple.
Coming back to the batter’s box in the bottom of the third inning, Bae struck out three pitches with two outs and a runner on the second base. He struck out a foul tip on a four-seam fastball at 95.7 miles (154 kilometers) per hour.
In the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and no runner on, he hit a double off Paul Sewald, who had a low speed of 83.7 miles (134.7 kilometers per hour) on the second pitch. It was a huge hit heading overhead in the center field. He flew 121 meters at the speed of 103.6 miles (166.7 kilometers) per hour) and hit the fence.
It was regrettable that the ball did not lead to a home run. According to Baseball Servant, a U.S. baseball statistics website, six of the 30 stadiums in the Major League Baseball were those that could have been home runs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore), Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati), Progressive Field (Cliveland), Angel Stadium (LA Angels), Dodger Stadium (LA Dodgers), and T-Mobile Park (Seattle).
Bae Ji-hwan, who also took the batter’s box in the eighth inning, made a big hit again this time with two outs and no runners. The ball, which drew a batting speed of 98.6 miles (158.7 kilometers) per hour, extended 118 meters, but was sucked into the glove of center fielder Jake McCarthy, leaving a regret.
Every game was a meaningful day for Bae Ji-hwan in a precious situation. Bae Ji-hwan, who started the season with Triple-A after suffering a left hip injury ahead of this season, returned to the big league on May 22 but headed back to the minor league due to a sprained right wrist in June.
With a batting average of 0.355 in 48 games in Triple A, five home runs, 26 RBIs, 36 runs and 12 steals, an on-base percentage of 0.434, a slugging percentage of 0.497 and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.931, he was called up again in the Major League ahead of the away series against the Arizona Diamondbacks held on the 27th of last month.
However, the call-up was scheduled for a limited time. Key outfielder Brian Reynolds was placed on the funeral leave list and was expected to fill the vacancy during that time. However, second baseman Nick Gonzalez got another chance after leaving due to injury, and manager Derek Shelton sent down Alika Williams even though she had to leave the roster to call up Kiner-Falefa, who was traded to him.
After the change of entry, he immediately got a chance to play as a starter and made big hits including a homerun double, impressing the manager. Successful on-base hits with multiple walks is another meaningful result.
Unfortunately, the team suffered an upset loss. Pittsburgh led by Kiner-Palepa’s double and Brian De La Cruz’s RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, but added one more run in the second inning with Grandal’s double and Kiner-Palepa’s triple, widening the gap to 4-0.
Pittsburgh, which gave up a run on Ketel Marte’s ground ball after a triple by Corbin Carroll in the top of the sixth inning, was chased down by McCarthy with a single on first and second bases with one out after starter Paul Skins went down.
He allowed a painful come-from-behind victory in the top of the seventh inning. After a walk by Heraldo Perdomo and a walk by Carroll, Jock Pederson hit a three-run homer to left field to turn the tables. Pittsburgh, which gave up one more run in the top of the ninth inning, recovered one run in the bottom of the ninth inning but lost the game 5-6.
Pittsburgh, which recorded 56 wins and 55 losses, maintained its third position in the 스포츠토토 National League Central. It is six games behind the first-runner Milwaukee Brewers and one game behind the second-ranked St. Louis Cardinals. In the wild card competition, the team ranks sixth, 3.5 games behind third-ranked Arizona.
