Korean players trade hits, steals as Rays beat Giants for 2nd straight game
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Kim Ha-seong catches a line drive by Dominic Smith of the San Francisco Giants during the clubs' Major League Baseball regular-season game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., U.S., Saturday. AP-Yonhap
Kim Ha-seong and the Tampa Bay Rays got the upper hand on his countryman Lee Jung-hoo and the San Francisco Giants for their second straight road victory.
Kim batted 1-for-3 with a steal as the Rays defeated the Giants 2-1 at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Saturday (local time).
Lee went 2-for-4 with a steal of his own in the losing cause.
This was the second game of a three-game series between the two clubs. They play in opposite leagues and will not meet again after the finale set for Sunday at Oracle Park.
Batting sixth and playing shortstop, Kim lined out to left field in the top of the second and then struck out looking in the top of the fifth. He flied out to right in the top of the seventh before getting his only hit of the game with a single in the ninth.
Kim then swiped second base for his sixth steal of the campaign, though he was thrown out at third as part of a double play.
Lee, who batted fifth and played center field, grounded out in the second and then singled to right field in the fourth.
After flying out in the bottom of the sixth, Lee led off the ninth with a single, as the Giants were trying to make a comeback.
Lee stole second base as Tyler Fitzgerald struck out for the second out of the inning. And Wilmer Flores also went down swinging against closer Pete Fairbanks to end that rally
Kim is batting .213 for the season, while Lee is hitting .260 — his highest point since June 18.
With his 10th steal Saturday to go along with his 10 triples, Lee also became just the third player in Major League Baseball this year to hit double figures in those two categories, joining Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks (14 triples and 16 steals) and Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox (12 triples and 19 steals).