Kim Hye-seong’s double leads Dodgers to victory

Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Kim Hye-seong continued his impressive run Tuesday with a clutch, go-ahead double against the San Diego Padres, maintaining his remarkable .410 batting average.

Batting ninth and patrolling center field, Kim went 1-for-3 with an RBI, extending his run of RBIs to three games. He now has 25 hits in 61 at-bats this season.

Kim’s first two at-bats included a pop-out to shortstop and a strikeout. But in the fifth inning, with two outs and a runner on second, he stepped up against Padres left-hander Yuki Matsui, a former Japanese star with 200 saves in Nippon Professional Baseball.

After missing the first pitch, Kim connected on Matsui’s 89 mph slider, sending a sharp double down the first-base line into the right-field corner. Max Muncy scored from second to tie the game at 6-6, while Kim advanced to second base.

Despite Kim’s clutch hit against a lefty, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stuck to the platoon system. In the eighth inning, facing left-hander Adrian Morejon, Roberts pinch-hit right-handed batter Adrian Hernandez for Kim. Hernandez struck out, and the Dodgers failed to add runs that inning.

The game remained tied at 6-6 through the ninth. In extra innings, the Dodgers pushed across two runs in the top of the 10th to secure an 8-7 victory.


조영우기자 jero@donga.com