Let's get off to a fresh start in the new team, let's go with Tampa Bay's humiliation Kim Ha-sung, who made his Atlanta debut with multi-hitters

Sep 03, 2025

The match between the Tampa Bay Rays and Kim Ha-sung (30) was the worst. But his first start for the Atlanta Braves was fresh. Obviously, it seems more compatible than Tampa Bay.

As soon as Kim Ha-sung wore his Atlanta uniform, he recorded multiple hits from the first game as a starter, raising expectations for his revival. If this momentum continues, there is a high possibility that the value of Kim Ha-sung, who was depreciated as an 'expensive glass body', will rise again.

Kim Ha-sung started as Atlanta's sixth shortstop in an away game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on the 3rd (Korea time). Kim Ha-sung, who suffered a shocking release from Tampa Bay the previous day, immediately signed with Atlanta and changed his uniform. As soon as Atlanta brought in Kim Ha-sung, it sent him out as the starting shortstop and tried to evaluate his skills in practice.

Kim Ha-sung presented a neat multi-hit answer to the Atlanta club's homework. What the Atlanta club wanted through the recruitment of Kim Ha-sung was a solid contribution to the attack, which satisfied this point.

It is the first time in 16 days that Kim Ha-sung has recorded a multi-hit since the game against the San Francisco Giants on August 18 when he was a member of Tampa Bay. After a multi-hit at the time, Kim Ha-sung went into the injured list (IL) due to a back injury after going 0-for-5 against the New York Yankees on the 20th, so he could no longer play.

Later, Kim Ha-sung was released by Tampa Bay at the time of his return from the injured list, and he made a multi-hit again as soon as he made his injury return and debut for Atlanta. The series of processes of moving teams after injury and announcing their robustness with multi-hits from the first game is quite dramatic. It is reminiscent of the narrative of the "Return of the Fallen Hero".

It didn't start very well on this day. Kim Ha-sung, who came to the plate for the first time after one out in the top of the second inning, only grounded out against Chicago Cubs Japanese starter Shota Imanaga. He hit the first pitch (91.1 miles) on the body with enthusiasm, but the ball was caught by the pitcher with no power as it did not lead to a positive hit.

Kim Ha-sung then hit a good ball in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and no runners, but was blocked by the opponent's shortstop's good defense. Again, he hit four-seam (90.4 miles) that came into the middle of the third pitch from the ball count 2B against Imana. The batting speed reached 107.2 miles per hour (about 173 kilometers). He seemed to break through the left side of the second base.

However, Chicago shortstop Dansby Swanson played the highlight defense of the game. Swanson, who quickly judged the ball, slid and caught the ball, turned around and stood up and threw it to first base to get Kim Ha-sung out. Dance B's gold glove-class defense deleted Kim Ha-sung's hit.

But Kim Ha-sung was not frustrated. Kim Ha-sung, who came back to the batter's box after one out in the top of the sixth inning when he followed 3-4, finally made his Atlanta debut hit against the opponent's left-handed bullpen pitcher Drew Forelands. He pushed the outer knuckle curve on the sixth pitch from 2B2S, completely penetrating the empty space between 1-2 bases and sending it in front of right field. However, Kim Ha-sung failed to score as subsequent hitters retired with strikeouts and infield balls.

Kim Ha-sung then hit his second hit of the day with two outs and a runner on second base in the top of the ninth inning, trailing 3-4. Kim Ha-sung, who faced right-hander bullpen Daniel Palencia, hit a 99.8-mile fastball that was low outside for the fifth pitch in the ball count 2B2S to create an infield hit at second base.

With Kim Ha-sung's hit, Atlanta created a chance to tie the game with two outs and runners on first and third bases. However, the game ended 3-4 because the follow-up hitter Ellie White was out with a fly ball to center field. Kim Ha-sung's multi-hit performance also remained regrettable.

However, the multi-hit from his Atlanta debut was certainly enough to raise the evaluation of Kim Ha-sung. In addition to Kim Ha-sung, the only players who had multi-hitters in Atlanta were Ajie Albies (2 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 RBI, and 1 run) and Marcell Ozuna (2 hits in 4 at-bats). Kim Ha-sung has performed the same as Atlanta's existing center hitter since his debut.

Although the team's defeat faded, it is a very good start for Kim Ha-sung as an individual. Now the key is to continue this performance without getting sick anymore. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Ha-sung will overcome the pain of release and become Atlanta's new hope.

Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.