Bae Ji-hwan (24-Pittsburgh Pirates) went hitless and struck out three times amid a questionable ball call.
Bae Ji-hwan started at first base and went 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts in the fourth game of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ four-game home series against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday (July 15).
He was frustrated by umpire Angel Hernandez’s inconsistent ball calls. Hernandez was at the center of a controversial call in Ryu Hyun-jin’s (Toronto Blue Jays) start against the Colorado Rockies.
He struck out in his first at-bat. In the top of the first inning, with the score tied 0-0, Bae faced Washington starter Josiah Gray. With two on and two out, Bae hit a six-pitch cutter high and out of the strike zone, but the umpire called it a strike. MLB.com Gameday, the official website of Major League Baseball, also confirmed that the sixth pitch was out of the strike zone. It was a somewhat unfair call.
In the third inning with a 1-0 lead, he struck out for the second time with the bases loaded. This time, he swung and missed on a five-pitch high cutter at 2B-2S. Gray put on a KKK strikeout show in the third inning against Jared Triolo, Jason Delay and Bae Ji-Hwan.
His third at-bat was also a strikeout. With a 2-0 lead, the bases were loaded in the sixth inning. After picking off a 1B-2S pitch, he swung at a five-pitch sweeper that fell just outside the zone, but the umpire called another strike. This one was also out of the strike zone on game day.
Still leading 2-0 in the eighth inning, Bae grounded out to first base to end the at-bat. His hitting streak was snapped at eight games, and his season batting average dropped from 2-for-4 to 2-for-5.
Pittsburgh, fourth in the National League Central, beat Washington 2-0 to extend its winning streak to three games. 69 points on the season. Finished a four-game home series with Washington with a 3-1 advantage. Starter Mitch Keller earned his 12th win of the season (9-0) with eight innings of two-hit ball, one walk and seven strikeouts. 안전놀이터
At the plate, Zack Swinski hit a leadoff solo shot in the second inning and Alfonso Rivas added a two-run shot in the fifth.
Last-place Washington, which lost its third straight, fell to 65-82. Gray, who allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits (two homers) in 6 1/3 innings, struck out 10 and walked two, but lacked support from his offense and suffered his seventh loss of the season (12). The offense struggled with two hits and no runs off the Pittsburgh mound.