'Awesome' As soon as Kim Hye-sung returned to ML, 'hit + steal + score' exploded! He's a real iron man. → 'A batting average of .400 in trial games'

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Hye-sung (27), who returned to his team LA Dodgers after leaving the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament behind, played an active role in stealing and scoring with a hit as soon as he returned.

Kim Hye-sung started as the first batter and second baseman in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on the 16th (Korea time), and recorded one hit, one run and one steal from four times at bat. With Kim Hye-sung's performance, the Dodgers won a huge 14-8 victory.

Kim Hye-sung moved directly from Miami to Arizona to join her team after the Korean national team lost the quarterfinals of the WBC against the Dominican Republic.

And as soon as he joined the team, he played in an exhibition game and showed off his 'iron' instinct. In particular, Reed-Oprah took the heavy responsibility and showed off his strengths, sophisticated hitting and fast feet.

Kim Hye-sung appeared as a leadoff hitter in the top of the first inning and faced opposing right-hander James Tyyon. Kim Hye-sung, who just watched the four-seam fastball in the middle of the first pitch, recorded a foul when the ball came to a similar course on the second pitch. He was then struck out swinging on a changeup that dropped to the low ball course outside the third pitch.

Kim Hye-sung faced his second at-bat in the top of the second inning with the Dodgers leading 4-0. The Cubs pitcher was still Tayon. Kim Hye-sung, who picked out the ball well outside the first pitch, hit a changeup in the middle of the second pitch. However, the ball headed toward the second baseman, and not only the first baseman but also the batter Kim Hye-sung was out, making it a double play. In the meantime, the third baseman succeeded in scoring.

Kim Hye-sung entered the third at-bat in the top of the fourth inning with his team leading 9-2. The pitcher standing on the mound again this time was Tayon. After watching the first strike, Kim Hye-sung hit a changeup (135km) that came into the low zone outside the second pitch and recorded a right-handed hit that penetrated between the second and first basemen. Kim then boldly stole second base during Alex Cole's at-bat. Kim settled on third when Cole had a hit to the right, and hit a wild pitch by Tyler Lars, a pitcher who was replaced after one out.

Kim Hye-sung took the batter's box for the fourth time in the top of the sixth inning with one out and no runners, with his team leading 10-2, but he stepped down with a fly ball to center field. He was then replaced ahead of the defense in the bottom of the seventh inning and finished his game on the day.

Kim Hye-sung added a hit on the day and succeeded in hitting consecutive games (five games) before the exhibition game in which he played. Until the game, he had seven hits in 17 at-bats and a batting average of 0.412. Along with one home run, five RBIs and three steals, he marks an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.000, showing off his good batting sense. Based on his good performance in the exhibition game, the competition for the main second baseman was also given a green light.

Meanwhile, Lee Jung-hoo, who participated in the WBC as a member of the Korean national team with Kim Hye-sung, missed the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers game on the same day and rested. San Francisco won 7-1 over Milwaukee with Herar Encarnacion's three-run home run.

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*This content was translated by AI.