Kim Hye-sung (26) of the Los Angeles Dodgers extended his hitting streak to five games.
On the 6th (Korea time), Kim Hye-sung started at second base and went 1-for-6 against the El Paso Chihuahuas at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Kim Hye-sung, batting first in the bottom of the first inning as Oklahoma City was trailing 0-4, hit a fastball from right-handed starter Steven Kolek at 94.5 mph, but was caught with a ground ball to second base. He also batted first in the third inning, but struck out with a foul tip on Kolek's slider at 82.4 mph.
In the fourth inning, with Oklahoma City leading 5-4 and no outs on second base, Kim Hye-sung came to bat for the third time against Kolek. He hit a cutter at 90.1 mph for a single. With runners on first and third base, Oklahoma City added a run on consecutive groundouts by Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland. Kim advanced to third base, but Eddie Rosario's 4-6-3 double play prevented him from scoring.
In the sixth inning, with no outs and a runner on first base, Kim Hye-sung watched a curveball from right-handed reliever Kevin Kopps at 82.9 mph, but struck out after an ABS (Automatic Ball Strike system) review. In the eighth inning, trailing 6-8, Kim batted first but hit a slider from left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove at 73.2 mph into a flyout to right field.
In the ninth inning, with Oklahoma City trailing 8-12 and one out, Kim Hye-sung came to bat in his final at-bat. He watched a fastball from right-handed reliever Leys Kner at 94.8 mph, but struck out. Oklahoma City collapsed on the mound and lost 8-12.
Kim Hye-sung is a South Korean national team infielder with a career batting average of .304 in 953 KBO League games (3,433 at-bats, 1,043 hits), 37 home runs, 386 RBIs, 591 runs scored, and 211 stolen bases, with an OPS of .767. Last winter, he signed a maximum $22 million (about 32.2 billion won) contract with the Dodgers for 3+2 years, successfully making his Major League Baseball debut. However, he finished spring training with a batting average of .267 (6 hits in 29 at-bats), 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 6 runs, and 2 stolen bases, and started the season in Triple-A without making it to the Tokyo series.
Aiming for his Major League debut, Kim Hye-sung only managed 2 hits in 10 at-bats over his first three games in Triple-A, but he has since hit in all of his last five games. In this game, he contributed another hit, although his batting average saw a slight decline. His Minor League statistics stand at a .273 average (9 hits in 33 at-bats), 6 RBIs, 7 runs, and 2 stolen bases, with an OPS of .823 over 8 games.
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