토스카지노San Diego Padres pinch-hitter Ha-Sung Kim expressed his frustration with the strike zone.
Kim went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday.
San Diego’s batting order was Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field), Juan Soto (left field), Manny Machado (third base), Zander Bogaerts (shortstop), Jake Cronenweth (second base), Gary Sanchez (catcher), Matt Carpenter (designated hitter), Trent Grisham (centre field) and Alfonso Rivas (first base). The starting pitcher is Blake Snell.
Chris Bassett started for Toronto and the lineup was George Springer (designated hitter), Bo Bissett (shortstop), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first base), Matt Chapman (third base), Whit Merrifield (left field), Santiago Espinal (second base), Alejandro Kirk (catcher), Jordan Rufflow (right field) and Kevin Kiermaier (centre field).
San Diego had a chance to take the lead in the top of the second inning. After a leadoff walk to Bogart, Cronenwirth singled to left field, but Sanchez reached on a throwing error by second baseman Espinal to put runners on first and third. But Carpenter flied out to shortstop and Grisham grounded out to end the threat.
Toronto got out of the jam and got on the board soon after. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Espinal walked and Kirk singled to put runners on first and third. Rufflow followed with an RBI single to put the game out of reach.
San Diego had a chance to tie the game in the top of the fourth. After Machado grounded out to second, Bogaerts singled to complete the multi-hit game. Cronenwirth struck out, but Sanchez followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. But Carpenter flied out to left field.
San Diego threatened in the bottom of the fourth. After Snell was hit by a pitch to Merrifield, Espinal flied out to right field. He then gave up a single to Kirk and a walk to Rufflow to load the bases. But Snell showed his crisis management skills. He struck out Kiermaier and got Springer to fly out to shortstop to end the threat.
Snell was in trouble again in the bottom of the fifth. He gave up back-to-back singles to Bissett and Guerrero to start the inning with runners on first and second. But he struck out Chapman and Merrifield. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, but he got Espinal to fly out to shortstop and left the game.
San Diego missed another opportunity in the top of the sixth. Soto led off with a walk and Machado followed with a single straight to second base. But Bogaerts followed with a single. Kiermeyer grounded out to third, and Bogaerts stole second, putting runners on first and third. Cronenwirth flied out to third and Sanchez grounded out to second to end the threat.
In the top of the seventh, Kim Ha-seong came to the plate as a pinch hitter. He came to the plate with runners on first and second. He watched the first pitch for a strike and then watched the second pitch. Tim Mayza’s sinker came in slightly high, but the umpire called it a strike. The umpire’s strike zone was wide on this day. However, Kim was disappointed with his first at-bat. He took a three-pitch slider and fouled it off the first baseman. Grisham, the first baseman, made a bad call. He thought Guerrero wouldn’t catch it, so he started for second, but Guerrero did and Grisham couldn’t get home. It was a double play.
In the bottom of the seventh, Toronto broke through. With the bases loaded, Guerrero took a two-pitch 98.5 mph (158 km/h) sinker off Luis Garcia’s abdomen and sent it over the right field fence.
San Diego failed to capitalise on a scoring opportunity in the top of the eighth. Tatis singled and Soto walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. But after Machado struck out, Bogart struck out to end the threat.
Toronto drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth. After Espinal led off with a single, Kirk followed with a two-run homer. He hit Tom Cosgrove’s slider over the left field fence.
In the top of the ninth, San Diego kept its hopes alive with a Sanchez single with one out, but Camposano popped out to end the game in a 4-0 loss.
Toronto starter Bassitt pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five to improve to 10-5 on the season. Kirk was 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and one run scored. Snell allowed one run (one earned) in five innings, striking out seven and walking four to fall to 8-6 on the season.
[Strike zone graphics of Kim, Rufflow, Snell, Kim, Guerrero, Kirk. Photos via Getty Images Korea, MLB.com gameday captures]