Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bae Ji-hwan was a force on the defence.
In seven plate appearances against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, on 29 September, Bae went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a walk. Raised his season batting average to .275 as the team fell to 3-6 in extra innings.
Contributed to the team’s first run in the top of the fifth inning. He led off with a single to right, moved to third on Chris Owings’ single to right and came home on Austin Hedges’ sacrifice fly. It was a run-scoring single that cut the deficit from 0-2 to 1-2.
In the bottom of the next inning, the defence came up big. With one out, he leapt to catch a line drive hit by Julio Rodriguez.안전놀이터
Despite his efforts, Pittsburgh was left stranded. Starter Luis Ortiz gave up a wild pitch followed by a double to Jared Kellnick to cut the deficit to 1-3.
Ortiz left the game after giving up three runs on five hits, two home runs, four walks and six strikeouts in five innings. Roanci Contreras, who was reassigned to the bullpen, took over on the mound and worked two innings.
After failing to capitalise on opposing starter Marco Gonzalez (5 2/3 innings, three hits, three walks, four strikeouts, one run), Pittsburgh scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth against Justin Topa. Andrew McCutchen reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a fielding error, and Brian Reynolds drove him in with a triple to right field. Reynolds came home on a wild pitch by Paul Seawald to tie the game at 3-3.
In the top of the ninth, Bae’s bat shined again. He led off with a double to left-centre field against Trevor Gott. It looked like it might be the game-winner, but McCutchen struck out the side.
Bae saved the day defensively in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, he tracked down J.P. Crawford’s well-hit ball and made an over-the-shoulder catch. It was the final out of the game.
The game went to extra innings. Pittsburgh failed to score in the top of the 10th. McCutchen, who was at second base when Reynolds singled to lead off the inning, was unable to get home. With two outs, Keivryan Hayes struck out swinging to end the threat.
Going scoreless in an extended inning with runners on second and third meant defeat. They paid the price in the bottom of the 10th. With runners on second and third, he gave up a three-run homer to Eugenio Suarez.
Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez had a five-game multi-hit streak going into this game. He became the third player in franchise history, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, to have five or more consecutive multi-hit games at the age of 22 or younger.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh first baseman Carlos Santana left the game with a lumbar muscle strain.