Kim Ha-seong goes 4-for-5 as hot streak continues

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Kim Ha-seong goes 4-for-5 as hot streak continues

Published: 03 Aug. 2022, 16:29

San Diego Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong hits a double during the fourth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park in San Diego on Tuesday. [USA TODAY/YONHAP]

Kim Ha-seong was one home run away from hitting for the cycle on Tuesday, going 4-for-5 in a dominant performance at the plate as the San Diego Padres took on the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park in San Diego.

Batting seventh, Kim started with a single off Colorado's Ryan Feltner in the second inning, following it up with a double in the fourth. The speedy shortstop knocked in the go-ahead run in the fifth with his second single, rounding things off with a big triple in the ninth. His only other at-bat was a pop out in the seventh.

The Padres won the game 13-5, with Kim recording two RBIs and two runs scored.

Kim, now playing his second season in the big leagues, has seen his form at the plate jump up this summer. Over the past 30 days he has a .312 batting average, which jumps up to .327 over the last 15 days and .360 over the last week. His slugging percentage has also increased from .452 to .600 in the same period.

Over the entire season, Kim is batting .252 with 37 RBIs and six home runs.

Tuesday's win came just hours after the MLB trade deadline closed, with the Padres having secured the biggest deal in the league: Acquiring star outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals.

The arrival of Soto could complicate things for Kim, who despite being on one of the hottest runs in baseball right now, could end up relegated to the bench as Soto locks up the outfield, leaving shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to slot back into the infield when he returns from injury. Kim may end up being the odd man out in that increasingly star-studded lineup, and could be sidelined again.

Had Kim managed to send a ball over the wall on Tuesday night, he would have been only the second Korean ever to hit for the cycle in the majors, after SSG Landers slugger Choo Shin-soo.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]