Lee Jung-hoo was absent from the starting lineup for the 2024 Major League home game against the New York Mets at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on the 25th (Korea time). He was excluded for the third time this season after the game against the Washington Nationals on the 11th and the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 19th.
He was excluded from the starting lineup for the first time in five days, and the break was too short to call it a break. The next day (26th), given that San Francisco is on a break day, it cannot be seen as a break, but he appeared as a substitute. After going down in the bottom of the fifth inning, Mets left-hander Sean Manaea went down to center field in the top of the sixth inning, and made his first major league substitute appearance with big defense.
Entering his first at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lee hit a 90.6 mph (145.8 kph) slider off right-hander Reed Garrett for the third pitch, but after being kicked out by a fly ball to center field, Lee walked out after right-hander Adam Ottavino's seven-pitch game in the bottom of the eighth inning. He walked for the ninth time in this season. He fouled off the fifth pitch at the count of 2-2, and picked out six to seven consecutive pitches.
There was a dizzying scene in the process. Otabino's 92.7 mph (149.2 km) sinker hit the seventh pitch deep into Lee's leg. It was a fast ball, and if it flies near the knee and gets hit incorrectly, it could lead to serious injury. However, Lee avoided the ball by pulling back his legs at astonishing speed. He missed the bat while falling forward and his helmet came off, but he stood up and headed for first base
The broadcasting staff of NBC Sports Bay Area in San Francisco expressed suspicions about the situation. "They might have thrown it on purpose. Who would know? It was a two-out situation. We never know, but we doubt it."
On the basis of this, the media mentioned that Pit Alonso, the fourth batter of the Mets, got on base with a dune in the top of the first inning. San Francisco Giants starter Ryan Walker's 4th pitch hit a sinker 96.4 mph (155.1 km/h) and Alonso fell backward. Fortunately, Alonso shook off the ball and walked out to first base as if he was not seriously injured.
Even after Alonso's dune, the game continued without any special collision between the two teams. However, a deep ball flew to Lee Jung-hoo in the bottom of the eighth inning, raising suspicions about an empty ball. Despite the absence of runners with two outs, chances are slim that Lee will suddenly throw an empty ball while playing a full count game through the seventh ball. Lee also fell to avoid the ball, but did not show any reaction and went to the first base, and the game ended without any major problems.
Pitcher Otavino, who was suspected of having an empty ball, controlled well to the extent that he did not give up any walks during eight ⅓ innings in eight games before taking the mound. However, he allowed Lee Jung-hoo his first walk of this season, as he had 3.9 walks per nine innings in total.
Lee Jung-hoo, who was on the field as a substitute but managed to get on base by getting a walk, had no hit in one at bat, thus his batting average for this season dropped from 272 to 269 (25 hits in 93 times at bat). OPS also edged down from .700 to .699.
San Francisco Giants also suffered a complete loss of 2-8 to the Mets. Blake Snell, who was scheduled to start the game, was put on the 15-day injured list due to symptoms of tension in the civil engineering field, and his participation was canceled. Seven pitchers were forced to take the bullpen day, but they lost eight points. In the second inning, second pitcher Sean Jelly lost for the first time in this season by allowing two hits (two homers) and one walk, two strikeouts and three runs in two ⅔ innings. The batting lineup also showed poor performance as it had no hits and 11 extra bases in seven times at bat in the scoring position. San Francisco Giants ended its two-game winning streak and ended up with 12 wins and 14 losses, but failed to reach a 50% winning rate.
BY: 토토사이트