‘6th pitch → 7th pitch → 9th pitch → 5th pitch’ I couldn’t hit a hit… ‘Leadoff’ Bae Ji-hwan walks 1 and scores 1, harassing NYY mound endlessly
Although he failed to produce a hit, he fulfilled his role as the ‘number 1 hitter’ well. He scored a run after getting a walk in his first at-bat, and made the opposing pitcher throw 27 pitches during his four at-bats.
Bae Ji-hwan started as a second baseman and first hitter in the 2023 Major League Baseball home match against the New York Yankees held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 17th (Korean time) and recorded no hits in three at-bats, one walk and one run.
Bae Ji-hwan, who has not been hitting well recently, experienced a very dizzying situation the day before (16th). Bae Ji-hwan caught the fourth pitch curve from Yankees’ Anthony Misevich in the bottom of the 6th inning when the team was down 2-3. However, this batted ball flew at a speed of 100.6 miles (approximately 162 km) toward Misevich’s face, hitting the right side of Misevich’s head.
Bae Ji-hwan was not entirely happy with the hit that broke the no-hit streak and tied the game at the same time. This is why Misevich, who fell to the ground, complained of extreme pain. Bae Ji-hwan sat down after stepping on first base and watched Misevich with a worried expression. Fortunately, Misevich seemed to have avoided serious injury and was able to get back on his feet and leave the stadium on his vehicle.
Although he had a dizzying day, Bae Ji-hwan seemed to have shaken off his shock. Bae Ji-hwan’s presence was noticeable from the beginning of the game. Bae Ji-hwan faced Yankees starter Luke Weaver in his first at-bat as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning when the team was down 0-3. Bae Ji-hwan missed the first and second pitches and was caught in a very unfavorable count of 0B-2S, but after picking off balls in succession from the third to sixth pitches, he got a walk.
Bae Ji-hwan’s on-base = score formula from the early season when Pittsburgh was on the rise continued. After Bae Ji-hwan started the game with a walk, Pittsburgh’s follow-up batter Brian Reynolds hit Weaver’s first pitch cutter with all his might and hit a two-run gun that went over the center wall, and Bae Ji-hwan succeeded in hitting home at this time.
He got off to a good start, but was unable to produce any additional bases or hits from his second at-bat. Bae Ji-hwan was struck out by Luke in his second at-bat when he had a chance to score with one out and second base in the bottom of the third inning when the team was down 2-4 and was unable to take advantage of the opportunity. However, just like his first at-bat, he made Luke메이저놀이터 throw as many as 7 pitches, increasing the number of pitches as much as possible to alleviate some of his disappointment.
As he led to two full-count games, Luke left the mound after hitting 77 pitches and allowing 3 runs in 4 innings, and Bae Ji-hwan faced Johnny Brito in the bottom of the 5th inning. And this time, it was a grounder to third base, but he and Brito fought tenaciously all the way to the 9th pitch. Through three at-bats, Bae Ji-hwan threw as many as 22 pitches against Yankees pitchers.
Bae Ji-hwan was in the bottom of the 8th inning, trailing 3-6. He entered his last at-bat with a loss in sight, and put his bat out for a slider that fell low in the strike zone on the 5th pitch of Ian Hamilton, the Yankees’ new pitcher, but ended the day’s game as he retired with a grounder to second base.
Pittsburgh, which had been on a three-game winning streak before meeting the Yankees, fell into a losing streak. At the beginning of the game, the two teams exchanged fiercely. In the first inning, Austin Wells hit an RBI double in the 1st and 2nd base chances created by consecutive walks by DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres, and Esteban Florial added two more runs with the bases loaded to make it 0-3. went ahead with
Pittsburgh also immediately launched a counterattack. In the bottom of the first inning, Pittsburgh’s leadoff hitter Ji-hwan Bae opened the scoring with a walk, and then follow-up hitter Brian Reynolds hit a cutter in the middle of the strike zone against Yankees starter Luke Weaver, hitting a two-run gun to narrow the gap to one run. . Then, the Yankees hit a solo shot by Giancarlo Stanton in the top of the third inning, and Pittsburgh kept the momentum going with Andy Rodriguez hitting a sacrifice fly with one out and runners on third base.
It was from the middle of the game that the game began to decline rapidly. In the top of the 6th inning, the Yankees got away with a run thanks to a wild pitch by Pittsburgh Hunter Stratton in the 2nd and 3rd base chances provided by Aaron Judge’s walk and Gleyber Torres’ double. And the Yankees took control in the 8th inning when Oswaldo Cabrera hit a scoring solo shot. In the end, Pittsburgh was unable to turn the tide until the end of the game, losing 3-6, recording two losses.