It was a perfect performance that deserves to be called the “Ha-Sung God.
Kim Ha-seong started at first base and went 2-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, a home run, three RBIs, and a walk in the first game of the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, on Friday.
San Diego vs Pittsburgh lineup
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Darvish Yu was followed by the following lineup: Ha-Sung Kim (right field), Fernando Tatis Jr. (center field), Juan Soto (left field), Manny Machado (designated hitter), Xander Bogaerts (shortstop), Jake Cronenweth (second base), Luis Camposano (catcher), Alfonso Rivas (first base), and Trent Grisham (center field).
Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher against them is Quinn Friston. The Pirates’ lineup was Jake Swinski (center field)-Brian Reynolds (left field)-Andrew McCutchen (designated hitter)-Carlos Santana (first base)-Henry Davis (first base)-Jared Triolo (third base)-Andy Rodriguez (catcher)-Tukupitamacano (second base)-Rober Figueroa (shortstop).
Kim Ha-seong and Choi Ji-man’s matchup was ‘highly anticipated’
The game was headlined by the Korean derby between Kim Ha-seong and Choi Ji-man. After failing to produce a hit the previous day, Kim had two walks and three strikeouts, and he’s been on a roll lately, hitting a career-high 12 home runs in Detroit on April 23.
Choi hasn’t been bad either. He has already hit four home runs since returning from injury, including a home run on April 22. However, he has missed a lot of time recently and was left out of the lineup for this game.
Kim Ha-seong’s one-man show
It was Kim Ha-seong from the start. 먹튀검증
He led off the first inning with a walk and took a four-pitch fastball from Pittsburgh’s Frister for a solo home run over the left-center field fence.
It was Kim’s 13th home run of the season. It traveled 387 feet (118 meters) and had a bat speed of 100.5 mph (161.7 km/h).
However, San Diego was unable to capitalize on the momentum.
After Tatis Jr. grounded out to shortstop, Bogaerts was forced out at second.
In the bottom of the inning, Kim led off with a three-ball, two-strike, full-count pitch, but he fouled off a six-pitch sinker to shortstop.