Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has been held without a hit for the first time in the ongoing major league postseason, though his club moved within a win of reaching the next round.
Batting seventh, the South Korean shortstop went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, as the Padres edged the Dodgers 2-1 at Petco Park in San Diego in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) on Friday (local time).
The Padres lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and can reach the National League Championship Series (NLCS) with a victory in Game 4. It starts at 6:37 p.m. Saturday in San Diego, or 10:37 a.m. Sunday in Seoul.
Kim popped out to second base in the second inning, and struck out in the third and fifth innings. He lined out to center field in the eighth for his first hitless game this postseason.
Kim is now batting .190/.320/.286 in six games this fall with two doubles and four walks. He and teammate Trent Grisham are tied for the major league lead in the postseason with six runs scored.
The Padres last played in the NLCS in 1998.
The Dodgers had the best record in the regular season at 111-51 but have now been pushed to the brink by the upstart fellow Californians that finished 22 games behind the Dodgers in the regular season.
Kim is currently the only South Korean left in this year’s postseason. Only one Korean position player, Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Choi Ji-man in 2000, has played in the World Series.
Source: Yonhap News Agency