Kim Ha-seong stays hot for Braves, pushes hitting streak to 6

Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves singles against the Washington Nationals during the clubs' Major League Baseball regular-season game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Sept. 17. AP-Yonhap

Atlanta Braves shortstop Kim Ha-seong has now hit safely in six straight games.

The Korean infielder filled the box score by going 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored, helping the Braves defeat the Washington Nationals 9-4 at Nationals Park in Washington on Wednesday (local time).

In addition to his hitting streak, Kim has also pushed his on-base streak to eight games.

Since being claimed off the waivers by the Braves from the Tampa Bay Rays at the start of September, Kim is batting .327/.390/.404, with a home run and eight RBIs in 15 games — compared with a .214/.290/.321 line, two homers and five RBIs in 24 games as a Ray.

Kim flied out in the top of the second and grounded out in the fourth against starter Brad Lord. But in the sixth, with the Braves trailing 3-1, Kim worked a seven-pitch walk against reliever Clayton Beeter to load the bases and scored on a Nacho Alvarez Jr.'s single that put the Braves ahead 4-3.

In the eighth, Kim singled off new pitcher Sauryn Lao and scored for the second time in the game on Marcell Ozuna's double.

Kim then delivered a two-run single off Shinnosuke Ogasawara with two outs in the ninth to make it a 9-3 game for the Braves, who went on to win their fifth straight game.

Also in the majors Wednesday, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants scored a run as a pinch runner in the top of the 11th, as his team defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Lee, mired in a 0-for-17 skid over his past five games before Wednesday, was held out of the starting lineup before replacing Bryce Eldridge at first base as a pinch runner in the 11th.

He advanced to second on Jerar Encarnacion's single, took third on Patrick Bailey's single and then scored on a double by Christian Koss.

Lee is batting .262 for the season. Despite his recent funk, Lee is still hitting .302 for September.