The Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Bae Ji-hwan (24), won both doubleheaders and won four straight games.
Pittsburgh won 16-1 in the second game of the double header against the Washington Nationals in the “2023 Major League Baseball” held at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, USA on the 20th (Korean time). Pittsburgh, which added two wins a day until the 6-3 victory in the first game of the doubleheader, took the lead in the National League by stepping on the season record of 20 wins (8 losses).
In the first game of the double header, Bae Ji-hwan started as the 8th hitter in center field and recorded a clever bunt hit. In the top of the 8th inning, leading 4-3, he succeeded in hitting a bunt that flowed exquisitely to the side of the pitcher from 1st and 2nd base safely, leading to a chance to load the bases safely. Austin Hedges got a pushout walk, and Brian Reynolds called in Bae Ji-hwan on a sacrifice fly to left field to seal a 6-3 victory. Bae Ji-hwan recorded 1 hit and 1 run in 4 at-bats.
Bae Ji-hwan took a break from the starting lineup in the second game. In the bottom of the 8th inning, with a 13-0 lead, he played as a great defense for the center fielder and added strength. Bae Ji-hwan only grounded the first baseman in the at-bat after a run in the top of the 9th inning. The batting average for the season slightly decreased from 0.253 to 0.250.
Pittsburgh pushed Washington from the start. In the top of the first inning, Carlos Santana hit a sacrifice fly from center fielder with 1 out, 1st and 3rd base, giving the team a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 2nd inning, with 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base, Jason DeLay hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder to make it 2-0. In the top of the 3rd inning, Santana and Jack Swinsky’s 1 RBI and timely double tied the score to 4-0.
In the beginning of the 4th inning, they scored 4 points, signaling the beginning of a great victory. Reynolds hit a timely run with two RBIs in an opportunity to load the bases, widening the distance to 6-0, and the next batter, Andrew McCutchen, hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder to make it 7-0. In the continued 2nd and 3rd base, Santana hit a timely one RBI and ran away to 8-0.
In the top of the 6th inning, a big shot exploded. Key Brian Hayes’ hit, Reynolds’ walk, and Santana’s hit made the bases loaded with one out. Swinski hit a grand slam over the right-middle fence and quickly ran away to 12-0. 메이저놀이터
Pittsburgh scored extra points without a break. After Delay’s triple in the top of the 7th inning, Drew Magee’s 1 RBI hit hit the team 13-0. At the beginning of the 9th inning, Anduha scored 3 runs on the second and third bases, making the score 16-0.
The power of the mound, which endured without a loss, also stood out. Starting pitcher Vince Velasquez pitched well with 5 hits, 5 strikeouts, and no runs in 6 innings, winning his 4th win (2 losses) of the season, after which Cody Bolton (2 innings) and Yohan Ramirez (1 inning, 1 run) closed the back door.
Washington had to be content with avoiding the humiliation of defeat with Dominic Smith’s solo catcher in the bottom of the ninth.