Padres' Kim Ha-seong hits 4th leadoff homer of season
Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres follows through on his solo home run against the Colorado Rockies during the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Coors Field in Denver, Colo., U.S., Aug. 2. AP-Yonhap
Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has gone deep for the first time in eight games as he inches closer to a milestone.
Kim hit a leadoff homer as part of his 2-for-3 day at the plate against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Wednesday (local time). Kim also drew two walks from the top of the lineup, helping the Padres to an 11-1 rout.
After seven highly productive offensive seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Kim is finally showing off his hitting prowess in his third major league season this year. He is now batting .284/.380/.458 with 15 home runs, 41 RBIs and 22 steals in 104 games.
Kim didn't waste any time extending his hitting streak to nine games. In the top of the first, Kim jumped on a high fastball from starter Kyle Freeland and drove it 425 feet into the left-field stands.
It was Kim's fourth leadoff home run of the season. He is now five dingers away from becoming just the second South Korean player, after former major leaguer Choo Shin-soo, to put up at least 20 home runs and 20 steals in the same season.
Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a solo home run to lead-off the game in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colo., U.S., Aug. 2. AFP-Yonhap
Choo, who is currently playing for the SSG Landers in the KBO, joined the 20-20 club in 2009 and 2010 for Cleveland and 2013 for Cincinnati.
Kim drew a one-out walk in the third inning and scored on Juan Soto's two-run home run.
Kim singled in the fifth and grounded out in the seventh. He walked for the second time in the game in the ninth and scored when Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a three-run shot as part of the seven-run frame.
Kim's new South Korean teammate, Choi Ji-man, remained on the bench, a day after joining the Padres in a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Yonhap)