Third place in Tampa Bay's third place for three consecutive losses, quickly call Kim Ha-sung! Double-finished batting multi-explosive 5-day call-up possibility

Jul 02, 2025

Third place in Tampa Bay's third place for three consecutive losses, quickly call Kim Ha-sung! Double-finished batting multi-explosive 5-day call-up possibility
Triple A Durham Bulls Kim Ha-sung hits second base with no outs in the top of the seventh inning against Norfolk tights on the 2nd (Korea time). Kim Ha-sung scored the winning run by hitting a critical hit. Photo = MiLB.TV Capture



Third place in Tampa Bay's third place for three consecutive losses, quickly call Kim Ha-sung! Double-finished batting multi-explosive 5-day call-up possibility
Kim Ha-sung is waiting for the Tampa Bay Rays big league call-up. AFP Yonhap News
Tampa Bay Rays' Kim Ha-sung, whose big league call-up has been delayed, hit multiple hits, including the winning hit, in a minor league rehabilitation game, raising the sense of hitting. It is a kind of armed protest against the Tampa Bay club, which has been in a swamp of three consecutive losses.

Kim Ha-sung, a member of the Triple-A Durham Bulls, started the 2nd shortstop against the Norfolk Ties (under the Baltimore Orioles) at Norfolk Harbor Park in Virginia on the 2nd (Korea time) and posted 2 hits and 1 RBI in 5 at-bats. Durham, with Kim Ha-sung's final hit at the forefront, won 5-4.

Kim Ha-sung scored a double in his first at-bat after one out in the top of the first inning. With a ball count of 1B1S, right-hander Roansi Contreras pulled a 94.3 mile fastball toward the body and hit a double that fell inside the left foul line. It has a launch angle of 29 degrees, a batting speed of 79.9 miles, and a distance of 289 feet.




He hit a double against the Jumbo Shrimp in Jacksonville (under the Miami Marlins) on the 8th of last month with his third double in Triple-A. Kim Ha-sung, who then went to third base with Tristan Peters' groundout to second base, failed to reach home as Bob Seymour struck out swinging.

Third place in Tampa Bay's third place for three consecutive losses, quickly call Kim Ha-sung! Double-finished batting multi-explosive 5-day call-up possibility
Kim Ha-sung hits a double to the left in the top of the third inning. Photo = MiLB.TV Capture
Kim Ha-sung, who was the leadoff hitter in the third inning, trailing 0-4, pulled well on Contreras' low slider of 82.4 miles on the fifth pitch, but was withdrawn by a fly to left field. With a 90.5-mile batting speed and a 331-foot distance, left fielder Heston Custard caught it in left-center.

Kim Ha-sung, who was grounded out to the third base in the sixth inning, hit a winning hit in the seventh inning with a score of 4-4. After leading Tre Morgan hit an infield hit toward the pitcher, pitcher Grant Wolfram advanced to second base with a bad pitch to create a scoring opportunity. Kim Ha-sung then hit an 85.2-mile curve in the middle of Wolfram's sixth pitch with a ball count of 2B2S, hitting a heavy hit during the line drive, bringing the second baseman home. It had a batting speed of 87.7 miles and a driving distance of 268 feet.




Kim Ha-sung then stole second base at Seymour's at-bat and recorded Triple-A's sixth steal. However, he failed to score due to a failed follow-up. After one out in the ninth inning, he struck out a rookie in his last at-bat.

As a result, Kim Ha-sung recorded a batting average of 0.208 (15 hits in 72 at-bats), 6 RBIs, 11 runs, 15 walks, 10 strikeouts, 6 steals, and an OPS of 0.602 in 21 Triple-A rehabilitation games. It is the first multi-hit game in five games since the game against the Memphis Redbirds on the 25th of last month.

Kim Ha-sung is likely to join the big league after the three consecutive away games.




The Tampa Bay Times, a leading media outlet in St. Petersburg, reported on the 1st that `Kim Ha-sung, who finished his rehabilitation game at Triple-A Durham Bulls, is being evaluated for his possible return to the major leagues.' Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said the club is very encouraged by Kim Ha-sung's rehabilitation process.

Kim Ha-sung took a break for eight days due to right hamstring pain from the 12th of last month, when he was in the midst of a rehabilitation game, and then played again from the 21st. Since then, he has played nine games.

Third place in Tampa Bay's third place for three consecutive losses, quickly call Kim Ha-sung! Double-finished batting multi-explosive 5-day call-up possibility
Tampa Bay Jose Caballero hits a home run in the bottom of the second inning at the Athletics on the 2nd (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News
Tampa Bay played the second game of its three consecutive home games against the Athletics on the same day. If he plays the remaining three days of the game, he will take a four-day break and end the first half with 10 consecutive away games against the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox from the 5th. On the 4th, Durham will end its three consecutive away games against Norfolk. In other words, Kim Ha-sung is expected to be able to join Tampa Bay as early as the 5th.

Tampa Bay dropped to the third place in the AL East with 47 wins and 39 losses, kneeling 3 to 4 after a close game in overtime against the Athletics on the 2nd. It is 1.5 games behind the first New York Yankees (48-37) and 0.5 games behind the second-place Toronto Blue Jays (47-38). In Tampa Bay's last-minute ranking competition in the first half, Kim Ha-sung's joining can be a big boost.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.