Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Kim Hye-sung's throwing error was due to "elbow pain."
Kim Hye-sung started as the 9th second baseman in the away game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on the 12th (Korea time). In his first at-bat in the 3rd inning, he was hit in the right elbow by a pitch thrown by San Diego starter Randy Vasquez. Fortunately, Kim Hye-sung, who was wearing a protective guard, briefly grimaced but walked to first base.
After that, he came to the plate twice but failed to produce a hit. Kim Hye-sung grounded out to second base in the 5th inning and popped out to center field in the 7th inning. In the 6th inning, he made a throwing error during defense. Max Muncy, who caught a ground ball from Manny Machado, threw to second baseman Kim Hye-sung. Kim Hye-sung stepped on second base and got the runner out at first, but the throw was way off, preventing a consolidation. After that, with Jackson Merrill's single to left field, there were runners on first and third with one out, and Gavyn Sheets’ sacrifice fly to center field allowed one run to score.
Kim Hye-sung was replaced by Kiké Hernández before the bottom of the 7th inning. With no hits in two at-bats that day, his season batting average dropped from .430 to .391. While there were views suggesting it was a punitive replacement, it turned out to be due to elbow pain. After the game, manager Roberts noted in a formal interview that "Kim Hye-sung felt discomfort after being hit in the right elbow in his first at-bat, so he was replaced early." He added, "It seems he made a fielding error because of the effects of elbow pain. It's not a serious injury, and he should be fine after resting for a day."
Meanwhile, the Dodgers defeated San Diego 5-2, avenging their loss the previous day and completing a winning series. San Diego took the lead with a run when Maldonado drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the 2nd inning. The Dodgers responded in the 5th inning with a solo home run by Conforto to level the score at 1-1 after one out. In the 6th inning, the Dodgers seized a scoring opportunity with one out and runners on first and second due to Freeman's infield hit and Smith's walk. Teoscar Hernández hit a three-run home run to center field, putting the Dodgers ahead 4-1. San Diego got runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the 6th inning, and Sheets' sacrifice fly to center field allowed one run to score. The Dodgers sealed the game with Smith's timely hit to right center in the 9th inning.
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