Hitting streak snapped at 10 games for Braves' Kim Ha-seong

Atlanta Braves shortstop Kim Ha-seong, right, throws outs Dylan Crews of the Washington Nationals during the clubs' Major League Baseball regular-season game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap

Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves has seen his season-long hitting streak come to an end at 10 games.

Kim went 0-for-4 with three groundouts and a flyout, as the Braves edged out the Washington Nationals 3-2 at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday (local time).

During his 10-game streak, Kim batted 14-for-37 (.378) with two home runs, eight RBIs and 10 runs. His batting average for the season had gone up from .217 to .257 during that span, but it came down to .250 after his hitless day.

Facing starter Brad Lord out of the No. 5 spot in the lineup, Kim grounded out to second baseman Nasim Nunez in the bottom of the second inning and then to shortstop CJ Abrams in the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Kim flied out to left fielder James Wood. With reliever Julian Fernandez on the mound, Kim bounced out to third baseman Brady House in the eighth.

Kim is batting .309 in September after joining the Braves off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays at the start of this month.

With Kim having turned his season around after a short, injury-plagued stint with the Rays, it bears watching whether the Gold Glove-winning shortstop will pick up his player option for next year, worth US$16 million, or decline that and elect for free agency. The soon-to-be 30-year-old could conceivably command more money for a longer term in the open market, and the Braves, in need of a steady and productive shortstop, may offer Kim an extension before the Korean veteran hits free agency.

Elsewhere in the majors Tuesday, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants went 1-for-4 with an RBI in his team's 9-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

After grounding out in the bottom of the second inning, Lee drove in the Giants' fifth run of the bottom of the third inning to put the home team up 5-3.

With two outs and runners at the corners against reliever John King, Lee hit a sinking liner toward center fielder Victor Scott II, who couldn't quite make a diving grab and caught the ball on a short hop instead.

It was Lee's first RBI since Sept. 10.

Lee struck out looking against reliever Jorge Alcala in the bottom fifth, before grounding out to first baseman Alec Burleson in the bottom seventh.

The Cardinals battled back with four runs in the top seventh and two more in the top ninth to grab a 9-8 lead. Lee did not get a chance to bat in the bottom ninth, and the loss knocked the Giants out of postseason contention.

The Cardinals' half-Korean reliever Riley O'Brien recorded the final out for his sixth save of the season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 with their Korean utility player Kim Hye-seong on the bench. Kim has not played since Sept. 14 against the Giants and has logged only 14 at-bats so far this month.