I think I have to admit it now. The long slump was a bitter medicine that further nurtured Lee Jung-hoo (27).
Lee Jung-hoo's ability, which has risen after overcoming the slump, seems to have clearly become 'leveled up' than before. In particular, as Lee Jung-hoo revived, his team, the San Francisco Giants, are reviving their postseason dreams, which seemed to have completely disappeared by building wins at the end of the season. Lee Jung-hoo seems to be the epicenter of the San Francisco wind gust.
Lee Jung-hoo led the team to its fifth consecutive win with '4 hits in a game' for the second time this year.
Lee Jung-hoo started as the sixth center fielder in an away game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri on the morning of the 6th (Korea time) and led his team to an 8-2 victory by scoring four hits, one RBI and two runs from five times at bat. It is a multi-hit and three-game hitting streak in the last two consecutive games.
This is the first performance in 33 days since the game against the New York Mets on the 4th of last month. After experiencing a severe slump from early May to July, Lee Jung-hoo recovered his early season appearance again from August. You can see it just by playing '4 hit game' twice in the second half alone. Thanks to this, Lee Jung-hoo's batting average jumped to 0.267 (133 hits in 498 at-bats), and he is expected to enter the 270s soon. OPS also jumped from 0.732 to 0.744.
Lee Jung-hoo, who stepped down with a fly ball to center field in his first at-bat with two outs in the top of the first inning, came out as a leadoff hitter in the top of the fourth inning with a 2-0 lead and scored his first hit against St. Louis starter Michael McGreevey. After a full-count game, he strongly hit a slightly lower sweeper (83.5 miles) on the sixth pitch. A 104.7-mile (about 169km) laundry line hit in front of center field.
Coincidentally, after the leadoff hitter Lee Jung-hoo's hit, the team's batting line exploded and scored four runs. The wind caused by Lee Jung-hoo led to a scoring storm. In the end, San Francisco won the game early with a 6-0 run.
Lee Jung-hoo, who regained his confidence with his first hit, made a strong base against the opponent's right-hander, Gordon Grapegoat, in his third at-bat after one out in the top of the fifth inning with a 6-0 lead. On the second pitch, he hit a 94.9-mile four-core to hit a 102.2-mile (about 165km) batting speed. This time, the ball flew to the right outfield and became a hit.
With a 5-1 lead, he had an RBI single in the top of the seventh inning with no outs and runners on the first base. He pulled the body cutter (92.1 miles) on the fourth pitch of the opposing right-hander bullpen Ryan Fernandez. Again, the batting speed exceeded 100 miles and reached 102.9 miles (about 166 kilometers). The ball, which penetrated between the first and second bases, rolled to the right fence in right field. Lee Jung-hoo added an RBI as the runner came in leisurely.
Lee Jung-hoo also settled on third base with ease. The St. Louis defense has already decided that a triple cannot be stopped. He didn't even throw to third base at all. Lee Jung-hoo, who threw off his helmet while going from first base to second base, stepped on third base without sliding. It was Lee Jung-hoo's 11th triple this season.
Finally, in the fifth at-bat in the top of the eighth inning, he made a hit with fast feet. With two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Lee Jung-hoo's hit was bound wide and headed toward the shortstop. St. Louis shortstop Meisin Win threw the ball hard to first base as soon as he caught the ball, but Lee Jung-hoo took the first base ahead of the ball after running through the wind. It's the moment when he hits four times in a row.
Amid Lee Jung-hoo's strong performance, San Francisco won 8-2, winning five consecutive games. Thanks to this, they have lost only one game in the last 12 games. In a word, it deserves to be called a `crazy rise.' Thanks to this, the competition for wild cards in the National League has also heated up. San Francisco is 72-69 and four games behind the New York Mets, who are third in the wild card.
According to the Major League statistics site FanGraphs, San Francisco, which has won five consecutive games, has a 6.5 percent chance of advancing to the postseason. It was 2% on the 1st, but it tripled in five days. It seems that a miracle is approaching in front of my eyes. Lee Jung-hoo's first major league fall party is by no means a vain hope.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
