He just happened to get the worst umpire. That’s why Bae Ji-hwan (24), a South Korean utility player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, went hitless.
Bae batted first and played second base in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Aug. 15.
Pittsburgh started the game with Bae in the leadoff spot. The starting pitcher was right-hander Mitch Keller. The batting order was Bae (second base)-Brian Reynolds (designated hitter)-Conor Jo (right field)-Jack Swinski (center field)-Joshua Palacios (left field)-Robert Peguero (shortstop)-Alphonso Rivas (first base)-Jared Triolo (third base)-Jason Delay (catcher).
The Reds started right-hander Zosia Gray on the mound, and the starting order was CJ Abrams (shortstop), Lane Thomas (right field), Keibert Ruiz (catcher), Joey Meneses (designated hitter), Dominic Smith (first base), Luis Garcia (second base), Travis Blankenhorn (left field), Jake Alou (third base), and Jacoby Young (center field).
Pittsburgh had runners on first and second in the top of the first. Pitcher Keller threw a grounder to second base, where second baseman Bae Ji-hwan, who happened to be waiting near second base, caught it and tagged Abrams at second. The result was an out. That turned a runner on first and second into a runner on second, and Keller struck out Meneses on a wild pitch to get out of the first inning unscathed.
Pittsburgh’s offense in the bottom of the first. Bae walked to lead off the inning. With two on and one out, Bae worked a full count with five foul pitches, but Gray’s 88-mph (142-kilometer) cutter was high and away, and the umpire called it a strike, forcing Bae to strike out.
After a scoreless first inning, Pittsburgh was able to take the lead in the bottom of the second on a solo home run to right field by leadoff hitter Swinski. It was Swinski’s 25th home run of the season.
In the top of the third inning, Alou led off with a bunt that went to second baseman Bae Ji-Hwan, but was hit into an infield single. Young followed with a sacrifice bunt to third base to put runners on first and second, but Pittsburgh got Abrams to fly out to right field to end the inning.
Triolo and Delay both struck out in the bottom of the inning and struggled to hit, as umpires called strikes on pitches that appeared to be out of the strike zone, especially high pitches. Bae struck out swinging on an 87-mph (140-kilometer) cutter five pitches in from 2B 2S. Again, it was well outside the strike zone and Bae had no choice but to swing at it.
With no more runs on the board, Pittsburgh was able to quench its thirst in the bottom of the fifth with a mid-month solo home run by Rivas. It was Rivas’ third home run of the season.
With Keller’s 2-0 lead intact, Bae’s third at-bat of the day came in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs. Again facing Gray, Bae was stuck on an 81-mph (130-kilometer) sweeper on a five-pitch count at 2B 2S. It appeared to be outside the strike zone, but Koo was unrelenting in calling it a strike.
After striking out in three consecutive at-bats due to Koo’s questionable call, Bae Bae-hwan faced his final at-bat of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and no runners on base. The opposing pitcher was left-hander Jose Pere. This time, he hit an 89-mph (143-kilometer) changeup, but the result was a pitcher’s choice groundout.
The game ended in a 2-0 victory for Pittsburgh. The game was fast-paced, ending just 1 hour and 50 minutes after it started.
Keller was the star of the night for Pittsburgh. Keller threw 92 pitches over eight innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out seven to earn his 12th win of the season. She also lowered her season ERA to 4.04. Bednar, who came on in relief of Keller in the top of the ninth, pitched a perfect inning to earn his 35th save of the season and lower his ERA to 1.89.
The Washington starter, who struck out three, was charged with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. It was his 12th loss of the season. Gray’s season ERA is 4.07.
Pittsburgh improved to 69-78 on the season with the win. They remain in fourth place in the National League Central. With 65 games remaining, the Nats are 82-82 and in fifth place in the National League East.
Bae, who went 0-for-4 on the day, did not prevent his season batting average from dropping to .242 (72-for-288). His hitting streak was also halted at eight games. Playing in his 100th game this year, Bae is batting .242 with a .303 on-base percentage, .322 slugging percentage, and .625 OPS with two home runs, 27 RBIs, and 23 doubles. 스포츠토토
On this particular day, Bae ran into umpire Angel Hernandez. Hernandez is considered one of the worst umpires in the major leagues. The Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryu Hyun-jin pitched five innings of four-hit ball with two walks and three strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies on Feb. 2, but he had to endure some tough calls from Hernandez, who was the umpire at the time.