Kim outshines Lee as Dodgers top Giants

Kim Hye-seong, 26, of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a symbolic victory in his first Major League meeting with close friend and fellow Korean Lee Jung-hoo, 27, of the San Francisco Giants. The two were teammates during their rookie seasons with the Nexen Heroes, now the Kiwoom Heroes, in the Korea Baseball Organization.

On Sunday, Kim started at second base and batted ninth in the Dodgers’ home game against San Francisco at Dodger Stadium. After sitting out the previous contest, he showed sharp form early, lining a single to left field in the bottom of the second inning. In the third, with two outs and a runner on third and the Dodgers ahead 6–0, Kim drove a clean RBI single to center off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens. The hit was fielded by none other than Lee Jung-hoo in center. Although Kim made solid contact in subsequent at-bats, the balls resulted in flyouts. He finished 1-for-4 with one RBI, and his batting average dipped slightly to .382.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani added to the momentum with a multi-homer performance. Batting leadoff as designated hitter, Ohtani launched solo home runs in the first and sixth innings. The latter marked the 250th of his MLB career, achieved over eight seasons since his 2018 debut with the Los Angeles Angels. With the two homers, Ohtani raised his season total to 25, just one behind league co-leaders Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, both with 26.

Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivered a strong outing, pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing only three hits and striking out five. He earned his second win of the season. The Dodgers’ 11–5 victory broke a tie in the National League West, putting them one game ahead of the Giants for sole possession of first place.

Leading off for San Francisco, Lee Jung-hoo drew a walk in his first plate appearance after an eight-pitch battle with Kershaw. However, he went hitless in his next four trips to the plate, finishing 0-for-4. His batting average dropped to .266.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com