The San Diego Padres recorded a win rate of more than 50% for the first time in the season.
In the third game of the season against the Braves on the 9th (Korean time) at True Park in Atlanta, Georgia, SD won 4-1 and recorded 5 wins and 4 losses thanks to starter Michael Waka’s good pitching and Juan Soto’s home run. Although he made 3 wins and 3 losses and 4 wins and 4 losses in the season, it is the first time that he has scored more than 50%.
Kim Ha-seong, who played as shortstop in the ninth, got to base with a double from the left side with one out and first baseman leading 2-0 in the fourth inning. When top hitter Trent Grisham grounded on first base, third base runner Lougned Odor was out at home, but Braves catcher Traviice Dano stepped on home while the ball fell back and succeeded in scoring the third run.
Coach Bob Melvin appointed cleanup hitter Xander Bogarts as the designated hitter and installed Kim Ha-seong as the natural shortstop. Odore played second base. On offense, he went 4-for-1 with 1 run and 1 run. batting average of 0.250.
SD is a difficult opponent for 7 consecutive away games at the beginning of the season. Atlanta is a strong player who has won the 2021 World Series champion and the National League East Division for the past five years in a row. The attack power is strong. In the first round of the 4-game series, SD broke the balance 4-4 in the 8th inning and turned the charter to 6-4, but allowed a tie at 6-6 in the 8th inning and collapsed with an end hit in the 9th inning.
The best award for victory on this day was starter Michael Waka. Manager Melvin said, “It was a game where you can see why the club signed a contract with Waka. The cutter, curve changeup, etc. were all perfect.” 스포츠토토
Waka (31) reported the victory of the season with 2 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts and no runs in 6 innings. The 10 strikeouts tied the record for the most strikeouts in his career. Powerful Braves hitters swung Waka’s pitch a total of 16 times. In particular, he struck out six times on his changeup.
Waka signed a four-year, $26 million contract with SD ahead of spring training. However, a club option for the 2024 and 2025 seasons with an annual salary of $16 million is at stake. If the club option is not adopted, the wakaga option may be used.
Soto, who was off to a sluggish start with a batting average of 10% (0.182) at the beginning of the season, took the lead by hitting a solo home run (No. 2) from Braves veteran starter Charlie Morton in the top of the third inning.