After going hitless for the third straight game, the San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim had to take solace in two walks.
Kim started at first base and shortstop in the final game of the Padres’ three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., on Monday (Aug. 28) and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. His season batting average dropped slightly from .276 to .274.
Kim gave his team the lead in the first inning when he drew a walk in his first at-bat, advanced to third on Juan Soto’s single, and came home on Manny Machado’s grounder to shortstop.
After being silenced by a walk and a grounder in his next two at-bats, Kim moved to second on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh, and then struck out against Trevor Megill in the top of the eighth to end the game.
After starting the game on a high note, San Diego took a 4-1 lead in the top of the second on a Gary Sanchez RBI double and a Matthew Batten solo shot, but gave up a run in the bottom of the inning on a passed ball. A seven-run sixth inning, highlighted by a Rowdy Tellez RBI double, quickly tipped the balance in Milwaukee’s favor.
San Diego cut the deficit to three runs in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch and a Fernando Tatis Jr. RBI single, but a William Contreras RBI double in the bottom of the seventh ended the rally. Unable to close the gap any further in the top of the eighth and ninth innings, San Diego fell 6-10, ending the three-game series against Milwaukee with three straight losses.
The Padres, now 61-70 on the season, are in fourth place in the National League West and have slipped to seventh place in the wild-card race. A 3-7 record in 10 games, from a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 18 to a three-game series against the Miami Marlins on April 22-24 to a series against Milwaukee on April 26-28, has widened the gap to eight games over third-place Arizona. Unable to rack up wins when it matters most, San Diego’s fall baseball chances are looking slimmer by the day. 먹튀검증