The Los Angeles Dodgers edged the San Francisco Giants for a 6-5 win in their Cactus League game on Saturday. Dodgers’ offseason acquisition Hyeseong Kim grabbed the headlines after his first home run in Spring Training.
Hyeseong Kim followed his Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani, who smoked his first home run in the game against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. While Ohtani dispatched the home run in his first at bat of spring, Kim went 1-for-14 with just a single in his first six Cactus League games.
Kim drew a walk and helped open the scoring for the Dodgers on Saturday with an RBI double from Griffin Lockwood-Powell in the bottom third to make it 2-1. The Korean infielder took Giants pitcher Mason Black deep in the fifth inning for a solo home run, tying the game at 2-2.
The Giants retook the lead after David Villar’s RBI single in the next inning. However, just like Ohtani and Kim, Freddie Freeman also registered his first home run of Spring Training this week, tying the game 3-3 with a solo homer in the bottom sixth.
James Outman’s sac fly gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning but the Giants fought back again, retaking the lead after a two-run home run from Jerar Encarnacion in the seventh. The Dodgers eventually won the game after Aaron Bacho’s go-ahead home run.
Hyeseong Kim hopes to continue hitting spree after maiden home run for Dodgers
Hyeseong Kim, who signed a three-year, $12.5 million with the Dodgers in January, had his best outing of the spring, driving in three runs in his two at-bats with a hit and a walk on Saturday.
Following his pivotal contribution against the Giants to hand the Dodgers consecutive wins, Kim said:
“This is my first interview because I hit a home run. I want to do that as much as possible.”
According to MLB insider Fabian Ardaya, Hyeseong Kim had dinner plans with Giants outfielder and compatriot Jung Hoo Lee, who had opened the scoring for San Francisco on Saturday. Kim and Lee represented South Korea in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and were teammates during their KBO stint with the Kiwoom Heroes.
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