Lightning-like base play. A hustle play that throws away without sparing the body. Bae Ji-hwan (24), who had been applauded by many Pittsburgh fans for his dynamic appearance, made a fatal mistake in the outfield. He had a major accident in trying to catch the ball, but failed and threw it backwards. Still, Pittsburgh superstar “Pirate Captain” Andrew McCutchen (37) showed dignity encouraging Bae Ji-hwan.
The Pittsburgh Pirates won a 2-1, one-point victory against the Cincinnati Reds in the 2023 Major League home game held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 23rd (Korean time).
With this victory, Pittsburgh scored 15 wins and 7 losses after a great victory (14-3) against the Colorado Rockies on the 18th. It is the first time in about five years since July 2018 that Pittsburgh has succeeded in winning six games in a row. At that time, Pittsburgh had won 11 straight wins from the Washington Nationals on July 12, 2018 to the Cleveland Indians on the 25th. On the other hand, Cincinnati, in the same National League Central Division, fell into a 5-game losing streak and recorded 7 wins and 14 losses.
Pittsburgh took the lead from the bottom of the first inning and succeeded in suppressing the baseline. Leading batter Kabrian Hayes reached base with a triple, then hit home on Brian Reynolds’ sacrifice fly to left field.
Bae Ji-hwan entered the first at-bat with no runners out in the second inning when the team was leading 1-0. However, he only had a fly ball to shortstop in the second pitch against opposing starter right-hander Luis Cesa.
Pittsburgh ran away with another run in the fourth inning. After one out, Carlos Santana and Jack Swinsky hit back-to-back doubles to make it 2-0. Bae Ji-hwan went to bat in the continued second-out and third-base opportunity, but the first baseman foul pop-flyed out.
Bae Ji-hwan’s mistake came in the defense scene in the top of the 5th inning. Cincinnati’s first-out chance. Stuart Fairchild got the hit to left-center. Cincinnati’s fast-footed first base runner Jonathan India ran around second base and ran to third base. But at this time, Bae Ji-hwan tried to catch the ball, but failed and threw it backwards.
India had already stepped on second base and was running towards third base. Maybe that’s why Bae Ji-hwan’s heart became more urgent? After the catch failed, Bae Ji-hwan ran to the back and caught the ball and relayed it. However, India, which initially settled on third base, took advantage of Bae Ji-hwan’s mistake and stepped home. The official record
was Bae Ji-hwan’s mistake. His third error this season.
Although he made a mistake, Bae Ji-hwan is now a young player in his second year in the major leagues. In the major league broadcast screen, Pittsburgh as well as a superstar representing the major leagues, McCutchen, came up to Bae Ji-hwan and talked about something. It seemed to be a scene of comforting and encouraging Bae Ji-hwan. It was a look that felt the dignity of the ‘veteran’ McCutchen.
2-1, Pittsburgh chased by one point. But there were no further crises. In the ensuing 1 out 2 base crisis, Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill put out the urgent fire by outing Tyler Stephenson with a ground ball to third base and Wil Myers with a ground ball to shortstop.
Since then, Pittsburgh has entered baseball to protect, putting Pil Seung-jo at the forefront. Bae Ji-hwan took his third at-bat as the lead batter in the 7th inning. Bae Ji-hwan, who had been silent in both previous at-bats. After sending the first pitch strike, he attempted a surprise bunt on the second pitch, but failed to hit the bat. He felt a desperate desire to get on base somehow. In the end, Bae Ji-hwan ducked his bat in the third pitch at Cincinnati bullpen Alex Young’s changeup (137.4km) and lowered his head.
Bae Ji-hwan’s batting average for the season fell from 0.228 to 0.217. Pittsburgh defended the team’s victory by throwing 2 innings each of Johann Ramirez and Duane Underwood Jr. following starter Hill (2-2). Ramirez held on with 2 hits, 4 strikeouts and no runs in 2 innings, and Underwood got a save with 2 innings, 1 strikeout and no runs. They threw 42 and 22 balls, respectively.
Meanwhile, on the same day,스포츠토토 the Pittsburgh club officially announced that it had extended the contract with manager Derek Shelton, who leads the team. However, the specific terms of the contract were not disclosed. “We are delighted to continue to work with Shelton, who is the right person to lead our team,” Pittsburgh general manager Ben Charrington said. Shelton has been leading Pittsburgh since 2020. On this day, he has a career record of 157 wins and 249 losses, including game wins.
