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Kim Hye-seong earns first hit with Los Angeles Dodgers

Published: 24 Feb. 2025, 13:41 Updated: 24 Feb. 2025, 17:24

Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers, center, singles off Eduarniel Nunez of the San Diego Padres, left, during a MLB spring training game at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 23. [AP/YONHAP]

Three games into his first spring training with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Korean utility man Kim Hye-seong finally has his first hit.

Kim went 1-for-2 with a walk after coming off the bench in the Dodgers' 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday.

Kim pinch-hit for the starting shortstop Mookie Betts at the top of the lineup with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and then got an infield single off Eduarniel Nunez.

Kim, mostly a second baseman in the KBO, took over at shortstop in the field before moving over to center field, where he recorded two putouts.

He is batting 1-for-6 with two walks in three spring training games, as he tries to make the Opening Day roster for the 2024 World Series champions with no shortage of middle infielders or utility-type players.

Also on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Korean player Bae Ji-hwan went 1-for-2 and scored a run in his spring training debut. He got the start at center field and hit a double in the fifth inning of a 5-1 win against the Minnesota Twins at Lecom Park in Bradenton, Florida.

One other Korean player in spring training, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, did not play in his team's 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Yonhap