The Major League Baseball (MLB) Pittsburgh Pirates,스포츠토토 where Bae Ji-hwan (24) is playing, has won the most consecutive victories in five years. But Bae Ji-hwan couldn’t help but laugh.
Bae Ji-hwan started as the team’s 8th batter and center fielder in the 2023 Major League home game against the Cincinnati Reds held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 24th (Korean time).
Bae Ji-hwan, who faced Cincinnati starter Hunter Green, who threw a 100 mph fastball, took his first at-bat at the end of the second inning with two out and second base. He hit the outside fastball well in a 2-ball, 0-strike advantage, but went straight to left field and recorded the third out count.
In the 5th inning, he attacked the green’s slippery ball, but withdrew with a ground ball to the second baseman. Bae Ji-hwan sprinted all the way to first base on a rather slow batting ball, aiming for an infield hit, but was out due to a narrow gap.
Bae Ji-hwan suffered an absurd decision in his third at-bat. Appearing at the end of the 7th inning with no 1st and 2nd base chances, he tried to bunt with 0 balls and 2 strikes. Cincinnati left-hander Rayber San Martin’s third-pitch slider headed up the strike zone, and Bae Ji-hwan took the bat. However, the referee ruled it a strike and Bae Ji-hwan struck out.
The game graphic on MLB.com, the official website of the Major League Baseball (MLB), showed that Bae Ji-hwan’s third pitch was far out of the strike zone. Bae Ji-hwan, who had been standing at the plate for a while with an expression of absurdity, returned to the dugout with a sigh.
On this day, Bae Ji-hwan finished the game with no hits in three at-bats and one strikeout. His season batting average fell from 0.217 to 0.206. He has only one hit in the last five starts, showing a somewhat lacking sense of hitting.
The game was won 2-0 by Pittsburgh over Cincinnati. Pittsburgh, which scored a run on Andrew McCutchen’s double play in the first inning with no outs on first and third base, sealed the game with Joe Suwinsky’s one RBI double in the eighth inning. Starter Vince Velázquez won his third win of the season with 7 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts and no runs.
The win put Pittsburgh on a seven-game winning streak. It is the first time since the 2018 season (11 consecutive wins) that Pittsburgh recorded more than 7 consecutive wins. By winning the game that day, Pittsburgh recorded a season win rate of 0.696, becoming the sole leader in the Central Division of the National League.
