Bae Ji-hwan (23, Pittsburgh Pirates) didn’t get a hit, but he did make some snowball plays and drew a walk. However, the team was unable to score a single run. In particular, the team took a knee in honor of Mike Tuckman (33-USA), who played for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO until last season.
Bae started the 2023 Major League Baseball 먹튀검증 (MLB) home game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, batting eighth and playing second base, and went 0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout. Bae’s season batting average dropped to .259 from .262.
After going 0-for-2 as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning the previous day, Bae had gone hitless in three consecutive games before this one. However, it was impressive to see him draw a walk in a tough game.
Bae entered the game in the bottom of the second inning with both teams tied at 0-0. Two batters later, Connor Cho led off with a double to left field. Bae picked off the first pitch and fouled off the second. The third pitch was a ball. He then pushed the fourth pitch, but was retired on a grounder to shortstop. It was a standard shortstop grounder, but his feet were too quick and he was thrown out at the plate.
With his team trailing 0-2, Bae stepped to the plate for the second time in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded. He was faced with an unfavorable 0-2 pitch count against Stroman. Bae then calmly picked one outside pitch. The next four pitches were low and he showed good initiative. He didn’t even bat at a high pitch in the fifth, but hung his head in shame when he struck out swinging at an outside pitch in the sixth.
Bae stepped up to the plate for the third time in the bottom of the seventh inning, with his team still trailing 0-2. The catcher visited the mound once after swinging at the first pitch. On the second pitch, Bae pulled his bat away as he tried to bunt. In the third pitch, Bae avoided a low pitch on the body. He didn’t even bat at the fourth pitch, which was outside off. A favorable ball count of 3-1. The fifth and sixth pitches were fouls. Finally, in the seventh pitch, he picked out a low ball on the body for a single. However, he was unable to score as the next pitch was silent.
In the bottom of the third, Barnhardt hit a solo shot to center field with the bases loaded to start the inning.(1-0) In the fourth, Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly to left field to put runners on first and third with one out after Happ’s triple to right field and Swanson’s walk.(2-0) Finally, the Cubs put the game out of reach in the eighth when Turkman led off with a single to center field and Suzuki singled to left field with runners on first and third to make it 4-0.
Tuckman then took a two-pitch pitch off Pittsburgh reliever Dauri Moretta for his second arch of the season. Tuckman also had a three-hit blast against Pittsburgh on April 15 at Anbang to give the Pirates the win. In 29 games this season, Tuckman is batting .295 (26-for-88) with two home runs, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored, 17 walks, 23 strikeouts, a .407 on-base percentage and a .398 slugging percentage.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s loss snapped an eight-game losing streak and dropped them to 34-38. They are in fourth place in the National League Central. In the same division, the Cubs have won two straight to improve to 35-38 and move past Pittsburgh into third place. The winning pitcher was Stroman (9-4 with a 2.28 ERA). The losing pitcher is Oviedo (3-7, 4.30 ERA).