Bae Ji-hwan was on fire. He made two spectacular plays on defense. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent the team from losing their sixth straight game.
Bae started at second base and batted first against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2023 Major League Baseball game at American Family Ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
After using his quick feet to get an infield hit the day before (Aug. 18), Bae didn’t get a hit for the second straight day. However, he did draw a walk, extending his streak to four games in a row and his streak to six games in a row as a starter. On this particular day, Bae shined more on defense than offense.토토사이트
Bae led off the first inning with a walk and faced Milwaukee’s “ace” Freddy Peralta, who fired a 93.4 mph fastball up the middle to start the game. His first base hit came in the third inning. In his second at-bat to lead off the inning, Bae drew a walk. He then came around to score on Brian Reynolds’ two-run home run.
As the bats didn’t break out on this day, Bae didn’t get many at-bats despite being the table-setter. Bae flied out to left field to Peralta in his third at-bat of the fifth inning and grounded out to third base against Trevor Megill in his final at-bat of the eighth inning, finishing the game with three hits, one walk and one run scored.
While Bae didn’t shine on offense, his presence on defense was unparalleled. In the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and three runners on, Luis Urias (Milwaukee) hit a ball that hit the pitcher and deflected toward the second baseman. Bae calmly handled the play and helped end the inning without allowing a run.
Later in the game, Bae moved from second base to center field and made a tremendous defensive play. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with the score tied at 2-2, Raimel Tapia (Milwaukee) hit a big fly ball that quickly stretched toward center field. It looked like a hit, but then Bae flew out.
Bae sprinted to catch Tapia’s fly ball and slammed his body into the center field fence at American Family Field to make the catch. What appeared to be a hit turned into a sacrifice fly. Tapia had a bitter smile on his face as Bae made a tremendous defensive play.
But despite Bae’s solid defense in the infield and outfield, it wasn’t enough to prevent Pittsburgh from losing. Pittsburgh took the lead in the third inning on Reynolds’ home run. However, despite a 2-1 lead, the Pirates scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and fell to 2-5, their sixth straight loss.