'3 hits + off-field home run' Lee Jung-hoo, even the Cy Young pitcher fell! Season batting average rose sharply from 0.253 to 0.275... SF smiled despite the defeat [SF Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The reason the San Francisco Giants could smile despite their defeat was Lee Jung-hoo (28).

On the 25th (Korea time), San Francisco played a 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular-season home game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA, and lost 4-9 to the Miami Marlins.

With two consecutive losses, San Francisco remained in fourth place in the National League West with 11 wins and 15 losses. Miami, with two consecutive wins, maintained second place in the National League East with a .500 winning percentage at 13 wins and 13 losses.

The pitching duel brought mixed results. San Francisco's Adrian Houser allowed 11 hits (2 home runs) in 4 innings, walked 1, struck out 3, and gave up 8 earned runs, suffering his third loss of the season. In contrast, Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, allowed 9 hits in 6 innings, walked 1, struck out 4, and gave up 3 earned runs, securing his third win (2 losses) of the season.

With San Francisco recording 11 hits and Miami 16 in a high-scoring game, Lee Jung-hoo stood out for San Francisco. In the bottom of the second inning with one out, Lee Jung-hoo hit a line drive single to center field off Alcantara's low-changing pitch. It was impressive that he calmly selected pitches outside the zone before driving the ball on a full count.

Lee Jung-hoo, who was retired on a fly ball to center field in the bottom of the fifth, hit another single in the bottom of the sixth with one out and a runner on first base by attacking Alcantara's outside sinker. However, he failed to score again due to a lack of follow-up hits.

Eventually, Lee Jung-hoo took matters into his own hands. In the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and San Francisco trailing 3-9, Lee Jung-hoo faced right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar. Lee Jung-hoo fouled off four pitches and endured stubbornly.

After reaching a full count, the ninth pitch, a 93.7 mph (approximately 150.8 km/h) fastball, headed toward his body, and Lee Jung-hoo swung his bat powerfully. The well-hit ball struck the sidewalk blocks outside Oracle Park and bounced over the McCovey Cove wall. It was his second home run of the season.

Unfortunately, it was not a splash hit. The San Francisco organization counts only home runs that go directly to McCovey Cove without hitting anything else as splash hits. Therefore, despite opening in 2000, there have been only 108 splash hits in total.

As a result, Lee Jung-hoo's season batting average rose sharply from 0.253 to 0.275. His OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) also jumped to 0.727, breaking the 0.7 barrier. He showed positive signs, including good fence plays in defense, raising expectations for his future hitting.

However, the disappointing pitching remains an area for improvement. Miami attacked San Francisco's mound from the start. In the top of the first inning, Jacob Marg hit a double to right field. Marg stole third base and scored on Xavier Edwards' double to the right-field wall, taking the lead. Liam Hicks hit a two-run home run to center field to make it 3-0.

In the top of the second inning with no outs and a runner on second, Graham Polly hit a single to center field with one RBI to add another run. In the top of the third with one out and runners on first and third, Hicks scored on a fly ball to left field. In the top of the fourth with no outs and runners on first and second, Connor Novak hit a three-run home run to center field to seal the game.

The only consolation for San Francisco was that they did not collapse helplessly. Trailing 0-8 in the bottom of the fifth with one out, Elliott Ramos hit a double to left field, Drew Gilbert hit a single to center field with one RBI, Eric Hase hit a double to right field, and Luis Araez hit a single to left field with one RBI, scoring three runs in a big rally.

However, it was not enough to turn the tide. Miami's Otto Lopez hit a single to center field with one RBI in the top of the sixth with two outs and a runner on second, and San Francisco failed to score any other runs besides Lee Jung-hoo's solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

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*This content was translated by AI.