Last at-bat in the bottom of the 8th inning. Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates), who felt sudden ankle pain right after the hit, seems to have avoided a major injury.
Bae Ji-hwan started as second baseman and first batter in the 2023 Major League Baseball match against the Toroto Blue Jays held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 6th (Korean time) and recorded no hits, 1 walk and 1 base in 3 at-bats.
On this day, Bae Ji-hwan failed to produce a hit and went hitless for two consecutive games. But the impact was clear. After walking on base in his first at-bat, he stole his 14th base of the season, solidifying his sole second place in stolen bases in the National League. However, he failed to steal third base, which he aimed for in succession, and was unable to rise to a tie for first place.
His offense was disappointing, but his defense shone. In the top of the 5th inning, trailing 0-4. Toronto’s Bo Bisset hit hard and quickly spread to the second baseman. At this time, Bae Ji-hwan flew up. Bae Ji-hwan caught the batted ball through a jump catch and succeeded in turning Bisset’s hit ball into an outcount, showing impressive performance.
However, the scene that caught the eye more than his two good performances was the last at-bat. In the fourth at-bat in the 8th inning, Bae Ji-hwan attacked Toronto’s new pitcher Eric Swanson’s 3rd low-falling splitter and sent the ball to the second baseman. At this time, a situation occurred where Bae Ji-hwan could not run toward first base.
Bae Ji-hwan stumbled in the process of leaping to run to first base after the hit, and soon began to limp. It looked like there was a problem with his right foot. In the end, Bae Ji-hwan, who could not properly play base, retreated with a ground ball to the second baseman, and returned to the dugout with a limp. And in the top of the ninth, he could not play defense and ended the game.
Since the beginning of the season, he has left a huge impact and has been active in all directions, so there were concerns about injuries. Bae Ji-hwan was also quite surprised by the sudden pain right after the hit. It is because he has never experienced anything like this before. However, as a result of the coverage of ‘My Daily’, at this point, there was no major injury to worry about.
Of course, it is not a situation where you can be sure of going to the 7th game because you have to watch his condition after the day has passed. However, the good news is that right after the game, Bae Ji-hwan’s ankle pain subsided, and it does not seem to be a major injury such as damage to his ligaments or abnormal bones.스포츠토토
Bae Ji-hwan, who stepped onto the major league stage for the first time last year, played in 10 games with a batting average of 0.333 and made a good impression. And in the process of digesting his first full-time job this year. Bae Ji-hwan, who appeared in 31 games and recorded 22 hits, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 17 runs, batting average of 0.244, is competing fiercely for the title of the National League stealer king based on 14 stolen bases.