SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season

Mar 31, 2025

SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season
San Francisco Giants Lee Jung-hoo is making a high five with shortstop Willy Adames after winning 6-3 in Game 3 of the opening series against the Cincinnati Reds on the 31st (Korea time). AP Yonhap News



SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season
Lee Jung-hoo hits a timely double to the left in the top of the sixth inning. ImagesYonhap News
The San Francisco Giants selected Lee Jung-hoo as the third hitter, not the leadoff, during string training, explaining the reason for the change in batting order, saying, `A batter who has contact ability and gets on base a lot.' Manager Melvin tried to maximize his scoring ability by putting Lamont Weight Jr., who has a good on-base percentage, as a leadoff and placing Willy Adames, Lee Jung-hoo, and Matt Chapman, who have excellent clutch skills, at No. 2 to 4.

The effect began to appear at the start of the season.

Lee Jung-hoo started as the third center fielder in Game 3 of the opening series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on the 31st (Korea time) and swung two hits, one RBI and two runs in four at-bats. He contributed to the 6-3 victory by scoring both timely hits, on-base hits and runs.




Lee Jung-hoo, who scored two runs with two walks in the opening game, raised his batting sense with one hit and one RBI from four times at bat in the second game. On this day, he played his first multi-hit game of the season.

With this, Lee Jung-hoo marked a batting average of 0.300 (3 hits in 10 at-bats), two RBIs, four runs, two walks, three strikeouts, one stolen base and an OPS of 0.817 in three games of the season. In the first three games of last season, he had a batting average of 0.333 (4 hits in 12 at-bats), one homer, four RBIs, one run scored, and an OPS of 0.869. In other words, he has continued his strong performance in the opening series for the second consecutive year.

SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season
Lee Jung-hoo is welcomed by teammates in the dugout after hitting a double in the sixth inning and scoring a run on Matt Chapman's two-run homer. AFP Yonhap News
The start was sluggish. In his first at-bat, right-hander Nick Martinez struck out swinging by a high cutter outside 91 miles on the fifth pitch, and after two outs in the fourth inning, when the balance of 0-0 continued, Lee Jung-hoo stepped down with a straight hit to the first baseman in his second at-bat. Martinez's 81.4 mile changeup was caught by first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand.




However, Lee Jung-hoo's bat exploded in the third at-bat.

San Francisco took a chance with a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning with a double by leadoff Tyler Fitzgerald. Wade Jr. and Adames struck out in a row, with two outs and runners on second base. Lee Jung-hoo came to the batter's box with a ball count of 1B1S and hit an 87.7 mile cutter that flew Martinez's high strike zone outside, hitting a double that landed on the left-handed line, bringing Fitzgerald home. The launch angle is 14 degrees and the batting speed is 82.9 miles.

When Lee Jung-hoo hit a double, local broadcasters said "When facing a pitcher like Nick Martinez, the batter's pioneering eye is very important. He is not a power character, but he has a good fighting spirit. Lee Jung-hoo calmly took the batter's box and sent the ball to the left", he explained. He praised Lee Jung-hoo's ability to make contact.




Lee Jung-hoo then homered with Matt Chapman's two-run homer to the left. San Francisco won the game by widening the gap to 4-0 with the long balls of two central hitters, Lee Jung-hoo and Chapman.

Lee Jung-hoo added a hit in his last at-bat in the eighth inning with a 5-3 lead. With no runner after the second base, it became an infield hit that flowed slowly in front of the second base when he pulled a 91.7-mile sinker in the middle of the third pitch against right-hander Taylor Rogers was missed.

SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season
The helmet is coming off as Lee Jung-hoo hits an infield hit in the top of the eighth inning and runs to full strength. AP Yonhap News
SF's third hitter explodes! Lee Jung-hoo, who scores multi-hit RBIs, has his first long hit SF 63 CIN with his first multi-hit of the season
Lee Jung-hoo hits an infield hit in the eighth inning and hits home on a follow-up hit. AFP Yonhap News
With the opposing pitcher changing to Scott Barlow, Chapman walked and advanced to second base, and Lee Jung-hoo easily homered during Elliott Ramos' left-handed hit to widen the gap to 6-3.

San Francisco's starter Robbie Ray won his first appearance of the season with three hits and three runs in five ⅓ innings, and closer Camilo Doval blocked the ninth inning with no hits and no runs, making his first save of the season.

The center line of the 3rd to 5th, which leads to Lee Jung-hoo, Chapman (one hit, two RBIs and one run including a home run), and Ramos (two hits, two RBIs and one run including a home run), made Melvin happy by scoring a total of five hits, five RBIs and four runs.

San Francisco, which marked the opening series against Cincinnati with a 2-1 winning series, finished third in the NL West. San Francisco will continue its three consecutive away games against the Houston Astros from the 1st to the 3rd.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.