'Is this a team?' 8-home run, 23-run blowout loss: Song Seong-moon was different 'First MLB home run, bullet-like double' [SD Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

The San Diego Padres suffered a shocking blowout loss. They lost control of the game from the early innings and ultimately could not prevent a crushing defeat.

On the 2nd (Korean time), San Diego fell to Chicago with a 3-23 score in an MLB away game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Starting pitcher Walker Buehler, who had won two games without a loss since June, was shaken from the start of the game. In the bottom of the first with one out and runners on first and third, a pitch to Seiya Suzuki moved inside, allowing a three-run home run (his 13th). In the second inning, he also gave up a solo home run (his 14th) to Dansby Swanson.

In the third inning, after allowing two hits and two walks for one run, he bowed his head after surrendering another three-run home run (his 15th) to Swanson.

Kyle Hart took over in the fifth, but he could not quell the Cubs' hot offense. He gave up a solo home run (his 6th) to Michael Conforto and was hit hard by a three-run home run (his 19th) from Pete Crow-Armstrong.

In the sixth, Conforto hit another two-run home run (his 7th). From the seventh, catcher Rodolfo Duran took the mound — effectively signaling surrender of the game. Although he retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh even with pitches clocked at 70 mph (112.6 km/h), he allowed five consecutive baserunners in the eighth and gave up Swanson's third home run of the day (his 16th). Michael Bush also hit a solo home run (his 11th), bringing San Diego's total to 23 runs.

While the team suffered a painful defeat, Song Seong-moon (30), who started at third base and batted ninth, showed exceptional performance.

With the team trailing 0-4 in the top of the third, Song led off against Cubs starter Colin Rea. He pulled a low inside four-seam fastball clocked at 92.7 mph (149.2 km/h) powerfully for a double. The exit velocity reached 109.3 mph (175.9 km/h). Although he advanced to third on a subsequent balk, no follow-up hit came in, and he failed to score.

In his second at-bat of the day during the top of the fifth with the score now 0-9, Song unleashed his power. The first pitch was a four-seam fastball clocked at 94.1 mph (151.4 km/h) that moved inside. Song swung without hesitation. The ball, exiting at 107.7 mph (173.3 km/h), had a launch angle of only 20 degrees but rocketed like a bullet over the right-field wall. This was Song's first career MLB home run.

After Song's home run, consecutive doubles by Manny Machado and Franmil Reyes added another run, but that was all. In the eighth, a triple by Samad Taylor was followed by an RBI single from Miguel Andujar, marking San Diego's final runs of the day.

Song ended the game with two hits in four at-bats: a fly out to left field in the top of the sixth and a groundout to shortstop with two outs and runners on third in the eighth.

Until June, Song had only two extra-base hits (both doubles). On this day alone, he hit two more extra-base hits. His batting average rose sharply from 0.214 to 0.233 (14 hits in 60 at-bats), while his on-base percentage and slugging percentage increased from 0.323 and 0.250 to 0.333 each. His OPS (on-base plus slugging) reached 0.666.

The Chicago Cubs, second in the National League Central with a record of 49 wins and 38 losses, extended their winning streak to five games and held their position. San Diego (43-42) fell into a five-game losing streak and dropped to a tie for second place in the National League West.

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*This content was translated by AI.