*This content was translated by AI.
Has he finished adapting to the Major League. Song Sung-moon (30) of the San Diego Padres finally broke his silence and reported his first hit in an exhibition game in the U.S. Major League Baseball. That was also the result of hitting a 155-km cutter by a fastball pitcher with a career-high 25 wins in the Major League.
Song Sung-moon started as the sixth batter and second baseman in an exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds in the 2026 Major League Baseball at Goodyear Ball Park in Arizona on the 27th (Korea time) and made a third base game with one hit and two walks in two at-bats. Song Sung-moon, who had no hits before this game, washed away his thirst for a hit in three games.
Song Sung-moon was cautious in his first at-bat on the day. In his first at-bat as a leadoff hitter in the top of the second inning, Song Sung-moon, who was disappointed by striking out swinging, showed his unique pioneering eye in the top of the third inning. He calmly drew a walk against opposing pitcher Nick Sando and recorded his first on-base hit of the day.
The highlight of the day was his third at-bat in the top of the sixth inning. Cincinnati's main pitcher Graham Ashcraft came out against Song Sung-moon, who entered as the leadoff hitter. Ashcraft is a right-hander who has 25 major league wins including eight last season. He threw powerful 96.5 miles (155 kilometers) cutters against Song Sung-moon for the third consecutive time.
However, Song Seong-moon's bat was not pushed. After watching the previous two strikes, he pushed the 155km cutter that came in for the third time to make a hit. He also showed his concentration in the unfavorable ball count driven by two strikes. It was a valuable first hit in three exhibition games. After that, Song Sung-moon homered and scored when Clay Dungeon made a timely hit.
Song Sung-moon had no hits before this day. He went through a period of adaptation by being silent against the Los Angeles Dodgers (no hits in two at-bats) on the 23rd and the Chicago Cubs (no hits in two at-bats and one walk) on the 25th. However, in today's game, he seems to be speeding up his pace by combining two walks with a hit to create a game on the third base.
In fact, Song Sung-moon was a third baseman with no opponent in the KBO League. He dominated the league for the second consecutive year with a batting average of 0.340 (179 hits, 19 home runs and 104 RBIs) in the 2024 season and a batting average of 0.315 (181 hits, 26 home runs and 90 RBIs) in the 2025 season. In today's game, he personally proved why San Diego invested up to 15 million U.S. dollars (about 21.5 billion won) for four years. Until just before the replacement in the bottom of the seventh inning, he played seven innings as a second baseman, showing off his multi-infielder appearance.
Song Sung-moon, who started to display his batting sense by hitting a 155-kilometer fastball. After preheating with his first hit in the exhibition game and the third base game, his bat seems to have begun a full-fledged run toward the opening of the regular season.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
