*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) started the 2026 U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season opener, but unfortunately, he failed to produce a hit.
Lee Jung-hoo started as the fifth batter and right fielder in the official opening game of the 2026 MLB against the New York Yankees at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on the morning of the 26th (Korea time), and was silent with no hits in four times at bat. Although he failed to report his first hit of the season, he showed stable performance in right field defense.
On this day, Logan Webb, who recorded double-digit wins for five consecutive years, took the mound as the starter for San Francisco. In attack, the starting lineup was formed in the order of Luis Arraez (second baseman), Matt Chapman (third baseman), Rafael Devers (designated hitter), Willy Adames (striker), Lee Jung-hoo (right fielder), Elliott Ramos (left fielder), Casey Schmidt (first baseman), Patrick Bailey (catcher), and Harrison Bader (midfielder).
In response, the Yankees started left-hander Max Fried, who won the most games in the two major leagues last season. Trent Grisham (center fielder), Aaron Judge (right fielder), Cody Bellinger (left fielder), Ben Rice (first baseman), Giancarlo Stanton (designated hitter), Jazz Chisom Jr. (second baseman), Jose Caballero (striker), Ryan McMan (third baseman), and Austin Wells (catcher).
Lee Jung-hoo had a great RBI opportunity from the first inning. San Francisco combined leadoff hitter Araez's straight walk in the bottom of the first inning and Devers' heavy hit after one out to take a chance on first and third bases with one out. Adames struck out swinging. Lee Jung-hoo then stepped into the batter's box and boldly targeted the 95.1 mile (153.0km) sinker in the middle of Fried, but he swallowed the disappointment by stepping down with a ground ball to the second base. It hit the bat well, but unfortunately, it went straight to the fielder. The batting speed was measured at 103.2 miles (166.1 kilometers).
The Yankees scored five points without missing San Francisco starter Webb's difficulty in the second inning. Fried, with the score on his back, pitched more stable.
Lee Jung-hoo took the batter's box for the second time in the fourth inning with one out and no runners. He hit a 91.9-mile (147.9-kilometer) cutter that was slightly low outside off the middle of the third ball at an advantageous 0-2 ball count, but he stepped away with a fly ball to center field.
The Yankees added two more runs in the fifth inning by combining Stanton's timely hit to center field and San Francisco shortstop Adames' throwing error.
Lee Jung-hoo took his third at-bat as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning when his team was still trailing 0-7. The opposing pitcher is Fried. The first ball is a ball. Second ball is a strike. The third ball is a foul. Then came a sweeper on the ball course, which had about two balls missing on the fourth pitch, and Lee Jung-hoo swung the bat but was out with a fly ball to left field. Fried went down the mound after facing Lee Jung-hoo.
Lee Jung-hoo took the batter's box for the fourth time in the bottom of the ninth inning when San Francisco continued to be dragged 0-7. The opposing pitcher is former teammate Camillo. Lee Jung-hoo, who missed the bat on the cut on the low ball course on the second pitch after picking out the first ball. The slider went in the same course on the third pitch, but Lee made a good choice. Foul on the fourth pitch. He then hit a sinker of 95.6 miles (153.9 kilometers) on the fifth pitch, but the ball flew straight to center field again this time.
In the end, the Yankees kept the lead well and secured a pleasant opening game victory.
Fried became the winning pitcher with two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts in six ⅓ innings. On the other hand, Webb lost the game with nine hits, one walk, seven strikeouts and seven runs (six earned) in five innings. San Francisco had only three scattered hits on the day. In the Yankees batting lineup, which had a total of 10 hits, all other starting batters except Judge recorded hits. Judge was silent with no hits in five at-bats.
Meanwhile, Lee Jung-hoo, who entered the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2024, ended the season early due to an unexpected shoulder injury. And Lee Jung-hoo played the entire season without injury in the 2025 season. He played in 150 games and posted a batting average of 0.266 (149 hits in 560 at-bats) with eight home runs and 55 RBIs, an on-base percentage of 0.327, an on-base percentage of 0.407, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.734.
In the 2026 season, Lee Jung-hoo aims to make a full-fledged leap forward. He also changed his position from center field to right field. Lee Jung-hoo played in eight exhibition games this year and had a batting average of 0.455 (10 hits in 22 times at bat), one homer, one double, one triple, four runs scored, two walks, an on-base percentage of 0.500, a slugging percentage of 0.727, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.227. In particular, he never struck out a single time.
In particular, in the game against the Cleveland Guardians on the 22nd, which was the last exhibition game, he hit his first home run in this year's exhibition game, making two hits in three at-bats (one home run) with one RBI and two runs. In the second consecutive game against Mexican team Sultanes de Monterrey, he played one hit and one RBI in three at-bats on the 24th, and then marked one hit, three RBIs, one walk and one run in one at-bats on the 25th, including one home run. It seemed that the hitting sense was at its peak, but he delayed his first hit of the season to the next time when he met a strong starting pitcher in the opening game.
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*This content was translated by AI.
