Lee Jung-hoo makes Korean MLB history

Choo Shin-Soo finished his major league career as South Korea’s all-time hits leader with 1,671. Even across 16 seasons in the majors, however, he never recorded more than four hits in a game. Lee Jung-hoo surpassed that mark Sunday, becoming the first South Korean player in MLB history to collect five hits in a single game.

Batting fifth and starting in right field against Colorado, Lee went 5-for-6 with two RBIs. He became the first San Francisco player to notch five hits in a game since Alex Dickerson on Sept. 2, 2020. It was also the second five-hit game of Lee’s professional career, including his time in the Korea Baseball Organization, and his first since Aug. 11, 2018, when he accomplished the feat as a member of Kiwoom against LG at Gocheok Sky Dome.

The performance capped a dominant series for Lee, who returned May 30 from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a lower back strain. He collected four hits in the opener against Colorado, added two more the following day and finished the three-game set with five hits Sunday. Lee went 11-for-15 in the series, raising his batting average to .304 with 59 hits in 194 at-bats. It was his first time back above .300 since April 29. The hot streak lifted him to seventh in the National League batting standings. San Francisco pounded out 25 hits in a 19-6 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The season did not begin that way. Through April 9, after 13 games, Lee was batting just .143 with a .438 OPS. Since then, he has steadily found his rhythm at the plate, batting .312 in April and .313 in May. “This is who Lee Jung-hoo is,” San Francisco manager Tony Vitello said after the game. Elsewhere, former Kiwoom teammates experienced mixed results.

Kim Ha-seong, 31, started at shortstop and batted eighth against Cincinnati but went hitless in three at-bats. His season average dropped to .089, with four hits in 45 at-bats. Meanwhile, Jorge Mateo continued making a strong case for regular playing time. After filling in at shortstop while Kim spent the previous three games on the bench, Mateo started as the designated hitter Sunday and launched a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning. It was his second straight game with a homer after delivering the game-winning shot a day earlier.

“When Mateo is swinging the bat like this, it's hard to keep him out of the lineup,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. Atlanta signed Mateo to a one-year, $1 million contract after Kim underwent finger surgery in January. As Mateo's production continues to climb, competition for playing time has intensified.

Song Seong-mun, 30, made his first start in eight days for San Diego, batting eighth and playing second base against Washington. He went 0-for-2 with a walk. Song reached base in the seventh inning with one out and a runner on third but was thrown out attempting to steal second. San Diego lost 4-2.

Kim Hye-seong, 27, was optioned to Triple-A on May 30 after batting .178 over his previous 15 games. He hit .259 with 30 hits in 116 at-bats across 43 major league games.


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