KKKK, bat escapes the ball. Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Hye-sung failed to get four strikeouts from four at-bats against Boston. batting average of 0.100 → .300 in the second half of the year, on the verge of collapse

Jul 26, 2025

KKKK, bat escapes the ball. Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Hye-sung failed to get four strikeouts from four at-bats against Boston. batting average of 0.100 → .300 in the second half of the year, on the verge of collapse



Only two hits in seven games and 20 at-bats in the second half.

Kim Hye-sung, who was active in the first half as a player of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 'Super Utility', fell into a deep batting slump in the second half. With this trend, maintaining a batting average of 30% for the season would be too much.

Kim Hye-sung started as the eighth second baseman in an interleague away game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on the 26th (Korea time), but had no hits in four times at bat. He only contributed to the team through defense.




It is even the first four consecutive strikeouts since his Major League debut. As the batting balance collapses, he is unable to respond to the opponent's ball at all. The bat was turned all over the body and outside, the breaking ball and the fastball. The only comfort is that he did not shrink at bat and continued his aggressive swing all four times.

As a result, Kim's batting average for the season fell from 0.313 to 0.303 (40 hits in 132 times at bat). Now, if he plays hitless in the next game, his batting average of 30% for the season may collapse.

Recently, Kim Hye-sung has more chances to play thanks to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' strong trust and injuries to infield competitors. He started six of seven games in the second half thanks to injuries to third baseman Maxime Muncy and veteran utility man Quique Hernandez.




KKKK, bat escapes the ball. Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Hye-sung failed to get four strikeouts from four at-bats against Boston. batting average of 0.100 → .300 in the second half of the year, on the verge of collapse
However, he has not been able to show his batting skills to match it. He is continuing a serious batting slump with two hits in 20 at-bats and a batting average of 0.100 in seven games in the second half.

It was the same day. Kim Hye-sung, who came to the batter's box for the first time in the top of the second inning with two outs and a runner on the first base, met opponent starter Brian Beyo and struck out the third ball swinging in the ball count 2S. He swung and missed on an 86.5-mile sweeper that was far out of the strike zone at the low end of his body.

After two outs in the top of the fourth inning with a 3-2 lead, his second at-bat was also hit by Beyo's breaking ball. He swung his bat on a low changeup outside the fourth pitch in 1B2S, but struck out a foul tip.




In the top of the sixth inning, he struck out again by opposing bullpen pitcher Chris Murphy in his third at-bat, which he encountered when he had an RBI chance with two outs and a third base. This time, the game continued to the sixth pitch, but he struck out swinging on a four-seam fastball (94.4 miles) outside the sixth pitch in the ball count 2B2S.

KKKK, bat escapes the ball. Los Angeles Dodgers' Kim Hye-sung failed to get four strikeouts from four at-bats against Boston. batting average of 0.100 → .300 in the second half of the year, on the verge of collapse
This slump eventually led to the last at-bat. Kim Hye-sung, who came out as a leadoff hitter in the top of the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, faced Boston's third pitcher Jorge Alcarat, but he withdrew helplessly after 3 consecutive swings and misses after 2B. Alcarra struck out Kim Hye-sung's timing with three fastballs that gradually accelerated to 95.5 miles (about 154km) - 96.9 miles (about 156km) - 98.2 miles (about 158km).

As a result, Kim Hye-sung had four strikeouts in his first game since his Major League debut. Including the last two at-bats (2nd and 5th innings) against Minnesota, he has struck out six consecutive at-bats. Even then, everyone swung the bat. He struck out swinging in the second inning and a foul tip in the fifth inning.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers won 5-2 regardless of Kim Hye-sung's fourth consecutive strikeout, recording a two-game winning streak. Shohei Ohtani, who had hit a home run in five consecutive games until the previous game, failed to achieve a home run in six consecutive games, but played not bad with one hit, one run and one walk in four at-bats.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.