The Pittsburgh Pirates succeeded in a winning series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series. At the center was Bae Ji-hwan (24, Pittsburgh Pirates).
The Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-2 in the 2023 Major League home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 28th (Korean time).
On this day, Bae Ji-hwan started the game from the bench without being included in the starting lineup. The Dodgers scored two runs first in the first inning. In the top of the first inning, lead batter Betts walked and Heyward hit right and stole a chance to get 2 out and 2nd and 3rd base. Here, Peralta scored two points with a timely hit with two RBIs. However, this was the final score of the match.
In the bottom of the first inning, Pittsburgh sprinted to third base after Makano succeeded in a surprise bunt, taking advantage of the opportunity for the opposing catcher’s throw to fall into the outfield. Then, Reynolds hit home on a timely hit to the right (1-2). Following McCutchen’s hit to the left and a double steal, Castro scored a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game, and then Swinski hit a timely come-from-behind hit. (3-) 2)
Afterwards, with the starters of both teams continuing to pitch well, Pittsburgh added 3 runs in the 6th inning, virtually putting a wedge in the game. After one out, McCutchen walked out, and the follow-up group drew a two-run arch. Then, the next hitter, Castro, fired a solo gun in the left middle wall to make it 6-2.
Going on, Pittsburgh got on base with a hit to right-center by Matias in the eighth after Swinsky struck out. At this time, the Pittsburgh bench appointed Bae Ji-hwan as a major runner. However, Maggie retired with a floating ball to center fielder in the second pitch, and could not record a stolen base or a run. Bae Ji-hwan moved from defense to center fielder in the beginning of the 7th inning.
Pittsburgh finished off the team’s attack that day with Swinsky, the sixth batter at the bottom of the 8th inning, striking out after two outs. As a result, Bae Ji-hwan had no chance to step into the plate.
With this victory, Pittsburgh succeeded in winning two consecutive victories, marking 18 wins and 8 losses this season, leading the National League Central Division alone. Recently, the momentum is good enough to record +10 wins in the win-loss margin. On the other hand, the Dodgers recorded a 13-13 win rate of 50%.
Bae Ji-hwan was at the center of this winning series against the Dodgers. In the first game of the series on the 26th, Bae Ji-hwan made a big success with 2 hits in 3 at-bats, 2 runs and 2 steals. Although he made the mistake of missing a mediocre fly ball to center field, he made up for it perfectly on offense. He continued the formula of ‘infield hit-steal-run’ in the second and fourth innings side by side. ㅋㅋㅋ벳
On the 27th, he went 4 at bats, 3 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs and 3 steals, leading the team to an 8-1 victory. He raised his season batting average to 0.254, and already recorded 10 stolen bases (2nd in the NL). It was the first time since his major league debut that Bae Ji-hwan completed 3 stolen bases in 1 game. Bae Ji-hwan recorded 5 hits, 5 runs, 5 steals and 1 RBI during 3 games against the LA Dodgers. It was Bae Ji-hwan who stirred the Dodgers infield throughout the series, with 3 infield hits out of 5 hits. Pittsburgh also ranks first in the major leagues (as of the 27th) in the team steal category, and Bae Ji-hwan is in the middle of it.