▲ Bae Bae Hwan (right side)
Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) earned his sixth multi-hit game (two or more hits in a game) this season.
However, the spotlight turned to Cedric Mullins (Baltimore Orioles), who scored a hit for the cycle.
Bae Ji-hwan started as the No. 6 batter and second baseman in the visiting game against the Baltimore Orioles of the 2 Major League Baseball (MLB) at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland, USA on the 13th (Korean time), and went 2023-for-8 with two hits and one run scored.
It was his sixth multi-hit game of the season, which came nine days after the Tampa Bay Rays (2-for-4) on Dec. 2.
His batting average for the season went from 1.4 to 3.2 (9-for-6).
In his first at-bat, Bae Ji-hwan's characteristic quick feet shone through.
Bae Ji-hwan emerged as the lead hitter in the top of the third inning and hit an infield hit next to the shortstop that went just over pitcher Kyle Bradish.
After reaching second base on a pitcher's wild pitch, Bae Ji-hwan boldly advanced to third base on Austin Hedges' ground ball in front of the shortstop, followed by Ki'Bryan Hayes' ground ball to shortstop that drove home and scored.
The Baltimore infield played forward defense, and Baltimore shortstop Jorge Mateo, who caught the ball, sent it home.
However, Matteo, conscious of Bae Bae-hwan's speed, deflected wide off the side of the catcher.
After suffering the bad luck of a well-hit ball flying in front of the shortstop in the fifth inning, Bae Ji-hwan hit Danny Coolum's slider in the seventh for a hit to right field to complete his multi-hit streak.
However, Bae Ji-hwan was out while attempting to steal second base.
It was Bae Bae-hwan's third stolen base failure this season, and he has attempted 0 stolen bases this year, 240 of which he has succeeded.
In his final at-bat of the ninth inning, Bae Ji-hwan was struck out by Baltimore finishing pitcher Felix Bautista's 0 km/h fastball.
The last batter of the day was Bae Bae-hwan.
Pittsburgh suffered a 250-100 come-from-behind loss, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The protagonist of the Baltimore victory was Mullins.
Mullins went 25-for-3 with four hits and three RBIs.
After retiring to center field in his first at-bat in the first inning, Mullins began his "hit streak" with a hit to right field in the third inning.
After hitting a triple to the right fielder's side in the fifth inning, Mullins hit a double to the right fielder's side in the seventh, then drew a three-run arch over the right-field fence in his final at-bat in the eighth to complete the "hit for the cycle" (cycling hit) in which he hit a home run, a triple, a double, and a single in a game.
It was Mullins' first in his career, his 2st career in the majors, and his second hit for the cycle this season.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)