Lee Jung-hoo hits first inside-the-park homer

“The Grandson of the Wind” Lee Jung-hoo hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career Thursday, turning a routine-looking fly ball into a rare feat at Dodger Stadium.

Lee started in right field and batted leadoff for the San Francisco Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. With San Francisco trailing 2-0 in the fifth inning and two outs with a runner on first, Lee drove a 153 kph fastball from Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan into left field on the third pitch of the at-bat.

The ball dropped near the foul line and took an awkward bounce off the wall, skipping away as Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández struggled to track it down. Lee took full advantage, racing around the bases and scoring standing up in 14.93 seconds for his third home run of the season, tying the game at 2-2.

It marked the first inside-the-park homer of Lee’s career, both in Major League Baseball and during his time with the Kiwoom Heroes in South Korea. He also never recorded one during his amateur career at Whimoon Middle School and Whimoon High School.

Lee became the first Giants player to hit an inside-the-park home run at Dodger Stadium. He was also the first San Francisco player in 46 years to accomplish the feat against the Dodgers.

The Giants tied the game on Lee’s homer but could not hold on, allowing three runs in the sixth inning in a 5-2 loss. Kim Hye-seong started at second base and batted eighth for Los Angeles, finishing 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Meanwhile, Kim Ha-seong went 0-for-3 for the Atlanta Braves and committed an error at shortstop that led to a run in a 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.


이소연 always99@donga.com