San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim, 28, exploded for his first career multi-hit game. In front of his KBO teammates and the pioneers who led the way to the major leagues, Kim accelerated his path to becoming the first Asian to reach the big leagues.
Kim batted first and third in the lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2023 Major League Baseball game at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, on Friday (July 25), and blasted a three-homer game. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs, two runs scored and one walk. His batting average rose to 2.7 on the season and his OPS jumped from .784 to .810.
Kim’s bat exploded in the first inning. Kim led off the first inning with a two-pitch, one-strike at-bat, launching a four-pitch 92.8 mph fastball over the left-center field fence for a solo shot. It was his 13th home run of the season and third leadoff blast. 꽁머니
In the bottom of the fifth inning, he cleared the fence again. With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, down 8-1, he lifted a four-pitch 83.8-mph slider over the wall in left-center. It was his 14th home run of the season and the first multi-homer game of his major league career.
With his first career multi-homer game, Kim had one of the best days of his career, and the iconic 20-homer plateau is no longer a pipe dream. With 18 stolen bases to his credit, he is now within striking distance of becoming the first Asian infielder to join the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club. With six home runs in July alone, it’s still not out of reach at his current pace, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.