‘There is no at-bat that goes unnoticed.’ Even with no hits, 4 at-bats and 27 pitches were tenacious… Persistent Bae Ji-hwan bullied the prestigious Yankees mound 

Bae Ji-hwan (24, Pittsburgh Pirates) showed off his unique vision and focused baseball skills, harassing the mound of the prestigious New York Yankees. 

Bae Ji-hwan started as second baseman in the second game of the 2023 Major League Baseball three-game home series against the New York Yankees held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 17th (Korean time) and recorded no hits in three at-bats, one walk and one run. The day before, he had the misfortune of hitting the pitcher’s face with a batted ball and made a mistake, so he had a hard time, but the next day he was added to the lineup and played the game to the fullest.

He displayed his pioneering ability from the first at-bat. Bae Ji-hwan, who appeared as the lead in the first inning when he was down 0-3, met Yankees starter Luke Weber and swung at a series of four-seam fastballs, but with a ball count of 0B-2S, he picked off four balls in a row and got on base with a walk. On base in the last two games in a row. Afterwards, second batter스포츠토토 Brian Reynolds hit a two-run shot, scoring a run. 

He was silent in the second inning when he was down 2-3 and had a chance to score with one out and two bases on base. He faced a 3B-0S advantageous count as opposed to his first at-bat, but at the end of the full count game, he struck out on a missed swing on a curve 89.2 miles (143 km) outside. 

The third at-bat was also a bad hit. He took the lead in the 5th inning when the score was 3-4, but ended up with a fly ball to third base. He showed tenacious hitting by hitting 4 fouls in 2B-1S, but could not get the timing right on the changeup that was driven to the center on the 9th pitch. Third baseman Oswaldo Peraza ran to near left field and caught the batted ball.

In the end, there were no hits. Bae Ji-hwan appeared as the lead in the 8th inning when the team was down 3-6, and finished his at-bat with a ground ball to second base against replaced pitcher Ian Hamilton. 

Bae Ji-hwan’s season batting average dropped from 204.2 li previously to 2.339 li. He tormented the Yankees’ mound, seeing a whopping 27 pitches (6.8 per at-bat) over four at-bats, although he failed to report a hit. 

Pittsburgh, ranked 4th in the National League Central Division, lost 3-6 to the Yankees and suffered its second consecutive loss. Season 69 wins and 80 losses. Starter Luis L. Ortiz’s loss of 4⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), 6 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 4 runs was painful. Ortiz suffered his 5th loss of the season (4 wins). 

On the other hand, the Yankees, ranked 4th in the American League East Division, won 3 games in a row and secured an early 3-game winning series away to Pittsburgh. Season 76 wins and 73 losses. Giancarlo Stanton and Oswaldo Cabrera hit home runs and led the team to consecutive wins.