Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Hye-sung (26) missed the game for the second consecutive day. The Dodgers, who kept Kim Hye-sung on the bench, won again thanks to Shohei Ohtani's home run.
Kim Hye-sung missed the away game against the Kansas City Royals in the 2025 Major League Baseball season on the 28th (Korean time) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kim Hye-sung's last starting appearance was against the Washington Nationals on the 23rd, and he was left out of the starting lineup for the three-game away series against the Colorado Rockies from the 25th to the 27th. Although the opposing starting pitcher for the games on the 25th and 26th was a right-handed pitcher, he did not make it into the lineup, and he only substituted in for defense in center field in the 9th inning of the game on the 26th.
On the first day of the three-game series against Kansas City, he was also absent from the lineup. The expected starting pitcher for Kansas City was the left-handed Noah Cameron, which led to his exclusion from the starting lineup. He did not come off the bench and remained on the bench for the second consecutive day.
Although Kim Hye-sung was absent, the Dodgers won by coming back 5-4. The Dodgers, who have recently won five consecutive games, raced to first place in the National League (NL) West with a record of 52 wins and 31 losses (.627 winning percentage).
From the start of the top of the first inning, the Dodgers opened the scoring with Ohtani's eighth leadoff home run of the season. Ohtani hit a changeup from Cameron that was clocked at 78.1 mph (125.7 km/h) on the fourth pitch for a solo shot to right field. The solo home run traveled 429 feet (130.8 m) at a speed of 110.4 mph (177.7 km/h) and a launch angle of 35 degrees.
Following the home run in the game against Colorado the previous day (27th), Ohtani hit home runs in consecutive games, bringing his total to four over the last five games, solidifying his first place in this institutional sector in the NL. He widened the gap to four home runs over Eugenio Suárez (Arizona Diamondbacks), who is in second place with 25 home runs.
In the top of the second inning, the Dodgers saw Max Muncy's 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot. However, starting pitcher Dustin May struggled, allowing six hits (one home run), three walks, and three strikeouts while giving up four runs in four innings, resulting in a 3-4 deficit.
However, they succeeded in regaining the lead in the top of the fifth inning. After Kiké Hernández walked, Ohtani hit a one-run triple to completely split the right-center field, leveling the game at 4-4. This was Ohtani's seventh triple of the season. Then, during Mookie Betts' clutch hit to center, Ohtani crossed home plate, bringing the score to 5-4.
Ohtani contributed significantly to the Dodgers' five-game winning streak, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one walk, including two extra-base hits. He raised his season batting average from .291 to .295 (94 hits in 319 at-bats) and his OPS from 1.025 to 1.045, maintaining his first place in the NL OPS.
Although starting pitcher May left after only four innings, the bullpen—composed of Luis Garcia (1 inning), Lou Trivino (1⅔ innings), Anthony Banda (⅓ inning), Alex Vesia (1 inning), and Tanner Scott (1 inning)—combined to pitch five scoreless innings and secured the comeback victory. Garcia earned his third win of the season, while Scott recorded his 18th save.
Closer Scott created a crisis in the bottom of the ninth with one out and the bases loaded, but he induced a ground ball to second base that ended in a 4-6-3 double play to finish the inning. First baseman Freddie Freeman made a sensational catch of Betts' short one-hop throw to end the game. Though it was a difficult throw that could have easily been missed, he successfully snagged it with the tip of his glove and fell backward to secure the victory.
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