*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants), whose bat had been on fire, was caught by the opponent's "net defense" and took a brief breather. Amid the misfortune of sharp hits being repeatedly caught by excellent fielding, his batting average fell to the .280s.
On the 3rd (Korea time), Lee Jung-hoo started as the leadoff hitter and right fielder in the road game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida, recording 4 at-bats with no hits and one strikeout.
Although the record showed silence, it was an "unlucky day" akin to having two hits stolen.
The first at-bat was disappointing. In the top of the first inning, Lee Jung-hoo faced Griffin Jax, a starting pitcher from the U.S. national team who had competed in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held last March. Jax threw an aggressive swing on the first pitch, creating a foul ball and building momentum, but when a high four-seam fastball came in on the outside on the fourth pitch, Lee Jung-hoo swung and missed for a strikeout.
Deep regret began from the second at-bat. In the top of the third inning with one out, Lee Jung-hoo made solid contact on Jax's fourth pitch inside, producing a strong hit. It looked like a likely hit to right field, but Tampa Bay right fielder Johnny DeLuca made a spectacular diving catch, snatching the ball out of the air. The hit speed reached 88.8 mph (about 143 km/h). It was not a hard hit, but the trajectory and quality of the ball were certainly not poor.
Luck abandoned Lee Jung-hoo again in the sixth inning. Entering his third at-bat, Lee Jung-hoo targeted a slider from reliever Jesse Scholtens and sent a fast hit toward center field. However, this time, center fielder Cedric Mullins made a diving catch after sprinting at full speed, erasing the hit once more. The hit speed was even stronger this time at 93.8 mph (about 151 km/h). The expected batting average, which gauges the likelihood of a hit by combining hit speed and launch angle, reached 0.510, but it was stopped by excellent fielding.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lee Jung-hoo faced Garrett Cleavinger but could only manage a ground ball, failing to add another hit.
Lee Jung-hoo had previously swept away his early-season slump by hitting .395 (38 at-bats, 15 hits) over 10 games starting from the Washington Nationals game on the 22nd of last month. At the end of the Philadelphia game on the 29th, he had even raised his season batting average to .301. However, he slowed down in the following four games with 3 hits in 15 at-bats (.200), causing Lee Jung-hoo's season batting average to drop from .298 to .288 before today's game.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants lost to Tampa Bay 1-5, extending their losing streak to five games and recording their 20th loss (13 wins) of the season, remaining in last place in the National League West Division.
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*This content was translated by AI.
