'$113 million (approximately 156 billion won)' man Lee Jung-hoo has faced his biggest crisis since entering Major League Baseball. Last year, he suffered from injuries, and this year, he is experiencing an unexplained hitting slump.

On the 23rd (Korea time), Lee Jung-hoo appeared as the fifth center fielder in the third game of the interleague series against the Boston Red Sox held at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, in 2025, but went hitless in four at-bats.

Amid a slump with a monthly batting average of .172 in June, Lee Jung-hoo, who watched the game from the bench after being excluded from the starting lineup the previous day against Boston, returned to the starting lineup after two games, but there was no significant turnaround. He did not strike out, but lacked power in his hits and did not meet the trust of San Francisco manager Bob Melvin, who batted him fifth.

Lee Jung-hoo faced his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning with one out and no runners on, trailing 0-1. Right as he took the plate, he swung at the high inside 92.7 mph (149 km/h) four-seam fastball from Boston starter Lucas Giolito and popped out to third base.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, leading 2-1, he also failed to hit a solid ball with no outs and a runner on first base. He watched the first pitch strike from Giolito and then swung at the second pitch, an outside high 79.8 mph (128 km/h) changeup, resulting in a pop out to left field.

In his third at-bat, he was unlucky as a well-hit ball fell victim to a defensive shift. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with two outs and no runners on, trailing 4-5, he swung hard at Giolito's third pitch, a 92.9 mph (149 km/h) four-seam fastball that was centered to the strike zone, but the ground ball went straight to shortstop Trevor Story near second base, resulting in a ground out to the shortstop.

Lee Jung-hoo faced his last at-bat as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading 8-5. He took on Jack Kelly and, with a count of 1B-1S, swung at the third pitch, a low 95.6 mph (153 km/h) four-seam fastball, but it resulted in a pop out to center field.

With four consecutive hitless games, Lee Jung-hoo's season batting average dropped from .255 to .252. With an extreme slump of 14 at-bats without a hit over the last four games, his monthly batting average in June also fell from .172 to .161. His most recent hit was on the 18th against the Cleveland Guardians, and his last multi-hit game was on the 5th against the San Diego Padres. Since a triple against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 16th, he has not had any extra-base hits in five consecutive games.

San Francisco earned a thrilling comeback victory over Boston with a score of 9-5, showcasing a powerful offensive effort. Casey Schmidt went 4-for-4 with one home run, one RBI, and three runs scored, Heliot Ramos went 4-for-4 with two hits and four RBIs, and Willy Adames contributed with two hits, one home run, one RBI, and two runs scored, becoming the stars of the comeback.

However, Lee Jung-hoo could not smile despite the team's victory. As the only player among the nine in the starting lineup to not record a hit, run, RBI, or walk, he looks forward to rebounding in the next series.

After a day off on the 24th, San Francisco will face the Miami Marlins in a midweek three-game series starting on the 25th. It remains to be seen whether a day of rest will refresh Lee Jung-hoo.

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