adminSan Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim (28) singles and steals a base against the highest-paid pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole (33-New York Yankees). He followed it up with a hit to knock Cole off the mound.
Kim batted seventh in the lineup against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., on Monday (Sept. 29) and went 1-for-2 with a run scored, three RBIs, two walks and a stolen base.
After going 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk against the Yankees the day before, Kim’s second straight game with a hit and three RBI raised his season average from 2-for-39 to 2-for-48 (157-for-38).
Walk, stolen base, run scored in first at-bat vs. Cole
The Yankees’ starter for the day was right-handed fireballer Gerrit Cole. Cole, who signed a nine-year, $324 million free agent contract with the Yankees in December 2019, becoming the highest-paid major league pitcher of all time, had been dominant this year, going 5-0 with a 2.53 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 11 games (67⅔ innings).
Facing Cole for the first time in his career, Kim was unfazed. In his first at-bat with the bases loaded in the second inning, he rattled Cole with an early bunt. Five pitches later, he drew a walk and stole second on the next at-bat against Trent Grisham. Cole made one throw to first base, but Ha-Sung Kim broke for home on the second pitch and touched second base on a head-first slide before catcher Kyle Higashioka’s throw. Seventh stolen base of the season.
Grisham lined out to left field but came around to score from second on Jose Azucar’s single up the middle. Scored for a 2-1 lead. Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader’s grounder to first turned into an error when it sailed over the catcher’s head and was thrown to third by Higashioka, who caught the loose ball behind the plate. The back-to-back errors allowed Azoka to come home and give San Diego a 3-1 lead.
A wild pitch to the body, and a hit by pitch in the next at-bat.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Kim persevered in a full-count battle with Cole that went to nine pitches. After two strikes, he harassed Cole with three foul cuts. The next pitch, a 96.4-mph four-seam fastball in the eighth inning, went deep into Kim’s head, sending him tumbling to the plate and knocking his helmet off.
After briefly leaving the batter’s box and putting his helmet back on, he froze on Cole’s nine-pitch slider and struck out looking.
But in his third at-bat of the seventh inning, he made amends with a hit that drove Cole off the mound. He took a six-pitch low knuckle curveball outside for a single to left-center. It was Cole’s 100th pitch of the game, and he was forced to turn the mound over to Jimmy Cordero with the bases loaded. After advancing to third on Trent Grisham’s double, Kim came home on Azorka’s grounder to second for his second run of the game.
In his final at-bat in the ninth inning, Kim completed his three-hit game by drawing a walk to Yankees right-hander Clay Holmes, this time working a full count of six pitches. With runners on first and third, Brett Sullivan’s sacrifice fly brought in three runs, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the deficit.
Darvish’s 7-run outburst sees Yankees lose series
Despite Ha-Sung Kim’s 3-for-3 performance, the Dodgers fell 7-10 and dropped a two-game series to the Yankees after taking one of three from them. 24-29 on the season. Starter Darvish was tagged for seven runs (one earned) on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings to take his fourth loss of the season. It was his most complete game of the season and raised his ERA to 4.61 from 3.67.
Darvish, who gave up a tying solo homer to Aaron Judge in the first inning to take a 3-1 lead, was torched for six runs on six hits, including five straight to start the third. Whether it was a slider, sinker, splitter, cutter or four-seam fastball, the Yankees’ hitters were hitting it right off the bat.토토사이트
The Yankees are 32-23 when they win a complete-game series. Cole struggled, allowing six runs (five earned) on four hits (two homers) with three walks and nine strikeouts in six innings, but got solid offensive support to pick up his sixth win of the season and remain undefeated. With his 15th home run of the season, Judge moved into sole possession of first place in the American League (AL) in that category. Judge, who led the Yankees with two hits and two RBIs, made a big play in the second inning when he swatted away O’Dowd’s fastball.