Lee, take the lead! SF Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-sung's forward deployment to Tampa Bay's No. 1 opponent. Leadoff comeback in 21 days

Aug 18, 2025

Lee, take the lead! SF Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-sung's forward deployment to Tampa Bay's No. 1 opponent. Leadoff comeback in 21 days



Lee Jung-hoo, who is showing a hotter hit than the August heat, will take the lead in attacking the San Francisco Giants.

Lee Jung-hoo was forward-deployed as the first center fielder for the first time in a long time in a home game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, in the early morning of the 18th (Korea time). It is the first time in 21 days since the home game against the New York Mets on July 28 that Lee Jung-hoo has reappeared as the first batter in August.

San Francisco coach Bob Melvin put forward Lee Jung-hoo as the spearhead of the offense. After that, Eliot Ramos (left fielder), Rafael Devers (designated hitter), Willie Adames (striker), Dominic Smith (first baseman), Christian Koss (third baseman), Patrick Bailey (catcher), Drew Gilbert (right fielder), and Tyler Fitzgerald (second baseman) made up the lineup.




The San Francisco starter is ace Logan Webb, who is 10-9 with a 3.34 ERA.

Lee, take the lead! SF Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-sung's forward deployment to Tampa Bay's No. 1 opponent. Leadoff comeback in 21 days
The reason why Lee Jung-hoo was forward-deployed as No. 1 in three weeks is that the hitting sense is so good recently. Lee Jung-hoo overcame a severe batting slump for two months from May to June, gradually recovered his batting sense from July, and clearly recovered his confidence in August.

He has a batting average of 0.346 (18 hits in 52 times at bat) in 14 games so far in August. Lee Jung-hoo is the only one who has not had a hit in 14 games against Washington on the 11th.




In particular, he stands out for his accurate hitting and fast-footed slugging power, including five doubles and two triples. Thanks to this, there is no home run, but the slugging ratio reaches 0.519. The OPS also soared to 0.901. The stat is similar to April's monthly batting average (0.324) and OPS (0.908), which was called the new icon of San Francisco due to its fierce batting performance at the beginning of the season. It can be interpreted that Lee Jung-hoo is returning to his original position after a long slump. The current batting average has recovered to 0.260 (114 hits in 439 at-bats).

Lee, take the lead! SF Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-sung's forward deployment to Tampa Bay's No. 1 opponent. Leadoff comeback in 21 days
Lee Jung-hoo has been hitting in five consecutive games recently. On the 17th, he also had his 25th multi-hit (2 hits in 4 at-bats) for the first time in August against Tampa Bay.

San Francisco has recently fallen into a deep quagmire of seven consecutive losses, virtually eliminating its chances of advancing to the postseason this season. Coach Melvin has also already declared his abandonment. Still, we have to find hope for the next season through the rest of the season. There is also an obligation to give home fans the joy of escaping consecutive losses. This important role is on the bat of leadoff Lee Jung-hoo.




Attention is focusing on whether Lee Jung-hoo will be able to properly serve as the vanguard of the team's escape from seven consecutive losses. If Lee Jung-hoo plays an important role in escaping the losing streak, criticism due to his sluggish performance is likely to be greatly diluted.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.