Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bae Ji-hwan played to his strengths and produced another impressive performance.

Bae went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) opener against the Atlanta Braves at Truiste Park in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Nov. 11.

After struggling at the plate since returning from injury last month, Bae has been slowly building up his batting average this month. On June 6 against the Milwaukee Brewers, he extended his hitting streak to five games. His season batting average remains at .245.메이저사이트

Pittsburgh’s lineup was Bae Ji-Hwan (second base)-Brian Reynolds (left field)-Kevin Hayes (designated hitter)-Jack Swinski (center field)-Josh Palacios (right field)-Jared Triolo (third base)-Alphonso Rivas (first base)-Jason Delay (catcher). The starting pitcher was Luis Ortiz.

After being retired on a pitcher’s miscue and a single to left field in his first and second at-bats, respectively, Bae recorded his first hit in three at-bats. In the top of the sixth inning, he singled up the middle and reached first base.

The next batter, Reynolds, hit a long fly ball to center field and Bae continued to pick up the pace. After stealing second and third, Bae slid home on a head-first slide. The outcome was safe. It was the moment that broke the 0-0 tie that had stood for five innings.

After Bae struck out in his fourth at-bat, Pittsburgh was unable to add any more hits, and Bae’s run gave them the lead for good.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Matt Olson’s grounder to third base scored Albies to cut the deficit to one run, and Atlanta responded with four runs in the top of the seventh, including Ronald Agunha Jr.’s RBI double. Pittsburgh, whose bats went silent after the top of the seventh, was unable to capitalize on the Atlanta bullpen and fell to 2-5. The Pirates are now 66-77 on the season.

Ortiz, who started, gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings, while Collin Selby, who gave up the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on three hits and one walk in ⅓ inning.

Atlanta, meanwhile, improved to 93-49 with the win, becoming the first of 30 major league clubs to clinch a postseason berth this season.