San Diego Padres center fielder Ha-Sung Kim was hit by a hard pitch. Can he produce hits again against his next opponent?

Kim Ha-seong started at second base and 메이저사이트 batted leadoff against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 Major League Baseball home game at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on April 15 (local time) and went hitless in four at-bats. He faced a hard-hitting pitcher.

In his first at-bat in the first inning, he was hit by a 101-mile-per-hour fastball from Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez and retired on a grounder in front of the plate.In his second at-bat in the third inning, he swung at a 98.9-mile-per-hour fastball from Rodriguez and was caught on a foul fly by the first baseman.

In his third at-bat in the sixth, he struck out on a 99.9-mile-per-hour four-seam fastball from Rodriguez, and in the bottom of the ninth, he was retired on a 101.6-mile-per-hour five-pitch fastball from Baltimore closer Felix Batista.

It’s not easy to get it right every time, but the extended silence can’t be good. Plus, the team has lost three straight games. As the No. 1 hitter, Kim has a lot on his shoulders.

Kim’s next opponent is also a pitcher with a lot of velocity. San Diego will play the second game of a three-game series at home against Baltimore on April 16. The Baltimore starter is right-hander Zach Flaherty.

Flaherty made his big league debut with St. Louis in 2017. He was a teammate of SSG Landers ace Kim Kwang-hyun for two years. He was traded to Baltimore this year.

He went 7-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 20 appearances for St. Louis, and is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts for Baltimore since the trade.

Kim has struggled with a 100 mph fastball. His counterpart, Flaherty, is capable of touching 93 and 95 mph. In his last start, Flaherty took the loss in Houston on April 10 after allowing three runs in five innings, but his 95+ mph fastball has a strong slider and knuckleball.

Flaherty threw four four-seam fastballs against Jordan Alvarez in the second inning against Houston, touching 95.5 mph-96.4 mph-96.6 mph-97.2 mph. He has a fastball and a sharp changeup that drops outside.

If Kim is going to get on base, he’ll need to be able to handle the slider and knuckle curve mixed in with his 93-97 mph four-seam fastball.

Meanwhile, San Diego, which has lost back-to-back games, will start right-hander Michael Wacha, looking to avenge a loss the day before.