Los Angeles Dodgers player Kim Hye-sung (26) was excluded from the starting lineup but came on as a substitute to earn one walk. The Dodgers suffered a crushing defeat amid a mound collapse.

Kim Hye-sung was excluded from the starting lineup in the away game against the San Diego Padres in the 2025 Major League Baseball season at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on the 11th (Korean time), and substituted in as a center fielder in the bottom of the 6th inning, recording one at-bat, no hits, and one walk.

On the previous day (10th), Kim Hye-sung hit a double in one at-bat against San Diego, showing good batting form with hits in three consecutive games. Although the starting pitcher for San Diego was right-hander Dylan Cease, Kim Hye-sung was left out of the lineup and started the game on the bench.

Trailing 0-5 before the bottom of the 6th, the Dodgers replaced second baseman Mookie Betts and right fielder Teoscar Hernández with Kim Hye-sung and Miguel Rojas, respectively. Rojas took over as shortstop, while Kim Hye-sung was inserted as center fielder, with center fielder Andy Pahés moving to right field.

In the top of the 7th inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Kim Hye-sung stepped to the plate for his first at-bat. Cease's first pitch fastball, aimed at the inside, was called a ball. Then, he hit a 97.2 mph (156.4 km/h) fastball that entered low and inside the strike zone for a strong ground ball at 101.1 mph (162.7 km/h), but it went straight to first baseman Luis Arraez for an out.

In the top of the 9th inning, with one out and no runners on, Kim Hye-sung drew a walk against right-hander David Morgan after a full-count battle. With a 2-2 count, he did not swing at Morgan's curve that missed the outer strike zone and his fastball. This marked his 4th walk of the season. The next batter, Freddie Freeman, hit a ground ball to the shortstop, and Kim Hye-sung was forced out at second base, resulting in a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

Kim Hye-sung's batting average for the season dropped from .410 to .430 (25 hits in 62 at-bats). His OPS slightly decreased from 1.028 to 1.020.

In this game, the Dodgers faced a crushing defeat of 1-11. The Dodgers, who had ended their two-game winning streak, now have a record of 40 wins and 28 losses (.588 winning percentage) and remain in first place in the National League (NL) West. The San Diego Padres, now in third place in the NL West with 38 wins and 28 losses (.576 winning percentage), narrowed the gap to one game.

With major starters like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki on the injured list, the Dodgers had a hole in their rotation. Relief pitcher Lou Trivino started as an opener and held off the opposition without allowing a run in the first inning.

However, ‘bulk guy’ Matt Sauer, who was brought in during the second inning, collapsed significantly, allowing 13 hits (including one home run), three walks, and nine runs over 4⅔ innings, causing the momentum to shift towards San Diego early in the game. This was Sauer's first loss in his Major League debut.

As the score widened to 0-9 in the bottom of the 6th, the Dodgers surrendered. After removing Shohei Ohtani, they used Kiké Hernández as a pitcher in place of the designated hitter, with Hernández holding the opponents to three hits and two earned runs (one earned) over 2⅓ innings through the bottom of the 8th.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, after two outs, the San Diego Padres took the lead, starting with a walk by Fernando Tatis Jr., followed by Arraez's one-RBI double to the right, Manny Machado's one-RBI single to center, and Jackson Merrill's one-RBI triple to the right.

After adding one run each in the 4th and 5th innings, they scored four runs in the bottom of the 6th, including Martin Maldonado's third home run of the season, accumulating four hits and two walks to solidify their advantage. Machado batted five times with three hits and five RBIs, Arraez also batted five times with three hits and one RBI, and Xander Bogaerts batted five times with three hits and two RBIs. Cease went seven innings, yielding three hits, five walks, and striking out eleven without allowing a run, earning his second victory of the season (2-5 record).

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