The San Diego Padres kept their slim hopes of fall baseball alive with a dramatic extra-inning victory in a guillotine matchup that would have eliminated them from the 2023 Major League Baseball (ML) postseason (PS) by one game. Kim went hitless on the day, leaving him with the task of managing his physical fitness.
Kim went 0-for-5 with one strikeout in five at-bats while starting at fifth and second base for the 2023 Major League Baseball team against San Francisco at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA, on Aug. 28 (KST).
With his third straight game without a hit, Kim is batting .152 (7-for-79) for the month of September, dropping his season average to .259. It was the first time in nearly two months that Kim’s batting average fell below .260 since July 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
San Diego finally snapped a 12-game losing streak in extra innings with three games left to end the 2023 season. A 5-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning after Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly and Manny Machado’s RBI double up the middle gave the Dodgers their first win in extra innings, as Tom Cosgrove struck out three to preserve the win.
It was also a guillotine matchup between two teams with identical 78-80 records, meaning that a loss to either team would automatically eliminate them from the postseason. With the crucial win, San Diego remained 3.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs-Miami Marlins tie for the third National League wild card and two games back of the fifth-place Cincinnati Reds. If the Padres win all of their remaining games and their rivals lose all of their games, they could head into fall ball in dramatic fashion.
Facing left-hander Sean Munaea, Kim hung tough in his first at-bat in the second inning, drawing three straight foul pitches on two-strike, zero-pitch at-bats, but was struck out on a fastball to his back. The Giants took the early lead. In the bottom of the second inning, Tyro Estrada hit a solo shot to left-center field for a 1-0 lead. Kim scooped up a low pitch outside in the fourth inning, but the ball sailed over the center fielder.
The teams traded runs in the fifth inning, but San Diego was unable to capitalize. In the top of the fifth, Jose Azocar led off with a double to left field. Brett Sullivan followed with a bunt single to put runners on first and third, and Bogaerts followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. However, Fernando Tanis Jr. struck out the side to end the threat. San Francisco regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Tyler Fitzgerald drove in Michael Conforto, who led off with a double to center, with a single to right field.메이저사이트
The game was not decided in regulation until the seventh inning, when Garrett Cooper tied the game at 2-2 with a solo shot to left-center field. Kim was still without a hit after a fly ball to center field in the sixth and a fly ball to right field in the ninth. In the top of the ninth inning, he was unfortunate when San Francisco right fielder Mike Yastrzemski made a diving catch of a fly ball that just missed the foul line.
In the top of the 10th inning, which started with the bases loaded, San Diego took a 3-2 lead when Brett Sullivan walked, advanced pinch runner Trent Grisham to third on a wild pitch, and Bogart once again hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Tatis Jr. advanced to second on a throwing error by the opposing shortstop, Juan Soto drew a walk, and Machado laced an RBI single up the middle to put runners on second and third.