The home run changed the atmosphere of the dugout. Lee Jung-hoo, the main characters of Korean culture, said, "My home run is my second."

May 14, 2025

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants enthusiastically welcomes Christian Kos, who came in after hitting a come-from-behind grand slam in the bottom of the second inning when he was trailing 0-3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 14th (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants puts down the bat after hitting a three-run home run slightly over the inside of the right foul pole in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on the 14th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News

San Francisco Giants Lee Jung-hoo hit a thrilling home run for the first time this season.

Lee Jung-hoo's fan club 'Hoo Lee Gans', which has become a specialty of Oracle Park, returned enthusiastically to the enthusiastic support.

Lee Jung-hoo started as the fourth center fielder in Game 2 of the three consecutive home games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on the 14th (Korea time) and hit two hits, three RBIs and one run in five at-bats, including a three-run home run.

San Francisco, with Lee Jung-hoo's wedge shot at the forefront, shook off Arizona's last-minute chase and won 10-6. San Francisco, which broke its four-game losing streak, maintained its third place in the NL West with a mark of 25 wins and 18 losses. The gap with the Los Angeles Dodgers (27-15 losses), the world's leading team, has been reduced to 2.5 games.

The game was held as an event organized by the San Francisco club called 'Korean Heritage Night'. Thousands of Korean residents entered and enjoyed the success, and the size of the Hurigans' cheering was twice as large as usual.

MLB.com says, `Lee Jung-hoo hit a home run in front of thousands of Korean residents who visited the ballpark for Korean cultural night. There were also bone marrow fans who called themselves the Hurigans.

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants hits a superior three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and runners on first and second base with a 7-4 lead in the home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on the 14th (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News

Lee Jung-hoo hits a three-run shot in the eighth inning and shows a ceremony pointing to the sky. AP Yonhap News

Lee Jung-hoo hit a home run with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 7-4 lead. The opposing Arizona hit third hitter Eliot Ramos with four pitches on purpose to fill the first base with two outs and runners on second base. He must have thought of Lee Jung-hoo as a comfortable opponent rather than Ramos, who has been on the rise recently.

But it was Arizona's defeat. Lee Jung-hoo drew a 78.9-mile curve from the ball count 1B2S to the fourth ball toward the body and connected it with a three-point line drive that slightly went inside the right foul pole. With a launch angle of 22 degrees, a batting speed of 101.2 miles and a driving distance of 352 feet, it is Lee Jung-hoo's fifth home run of the season and his first home run this season.

However, the main player in San Francisco's victory on the day was rookie second baseman Christian Koss. He turned the tide 4-3 by hitting a grand slam over the left side in the bottom of the second inning, trailing 0-3, and the team was able to win with ease as Willy Adames' two-run home run over the left-center wall in the bottom of the fifth inning and Lee Jung-hoo's three-point run in the eighth inning continued.

Lee Jung-hoo's fan club, which has established itself as Oracle Park's cheering culture, stands up in unison and cheers when Lee Jung-hoo takes the batter's box in the third inning. AP Yonhap News

With the bases loaded with one out in the second inning, Koss pulled a 92.1-mile low sinker on Arizona starter Brandon Part's second pitch and slightly over the left fence. Kos' first home run in the big league this year with a 369-foot distance. It is the 17th time in Giants history that a rookie hit his first home run with a full base.

Lee Jung-hoo also said of Kos' grand slam in the second inning, `The home run completely changed the atmosphere. It gave the dugout a big boost. I'm very happy about the course."

Coach Bob Melvin also sighed after losing four games in a row, a joy beyond that. We're not used to losing four games in a row." San Francisco fell into a four-game losing streak for the first time this season from the Minnesota Twins on the 10th to the Arizona on the 13th. He was able to quickly catch up with the game, which was almost taken on this day, with the bases loaded on the course, and win the game.

Lee Jung-hoo marked a batting average of 0.288 (47 hits in 163 at-bats), five home runs, 27 RBIs, 29 points, an on-base percentage of 0.333, a slugging percentage of 0.472, and an OPS of 0.805. The OPS has been raised to 0.800 units in three days since the 11th.