Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants is staying red-hot at the plate, with his hitting form heating up by the day.
Lee went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored, starting as the No. 5 hitter and right fielder in the Giants' road game against the Chicago Cubs in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on June 6.
Lee extended his hitting streak to 14 consecutive games, dating back to the Los Angeles Dodgers game on May 15. This surpassed his own longest hitting streak by one game. His season batting average rose to .324 (70 hits in 216 at-bats) from .321.
Stepping up as the leadoff hitter in his first at-bat in the top of the second with the score tied 0-0, Lee was retired on a fly ball to left field against Cubs right-handed starting pitcher Ben Brown. He flied out after making contact with an eighth-pitch low 155 km/h fastball.
After grounding out in his top-of-the-fourth at-bat, Lee recorded his first hit in the top of the seventh with the score tied 1-1. Stepping up as the leadoff hitter, Lee hit a single to right against right-handed reliever Jacob Webb. He attacked an outside 139 km/h changeup with a count of one ball and one strike. Lee then stole a base but failed to reach home as the following batters fell silent.
In the top of the ninth, with the game still tied 1-1, Lee's bat caught fire again. He pushed the opposing right-handed reliever Daniel Palencia's fourth-pitch 157 km/h fastball over the middle of the plate for a single to left field. Lee advanced to third base on the following batter Bryce Eldridge's single to right, and scored on Matt Chapman's sacrifice fly.
Lee's run did not prove to be the game-winner. San Francisco gave up a game-tying solo home run to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the bottom of the ninth, and allowed a walk-off single to right to Michael Busch with a runner on second and no outs in the bottom of the 10th. San Francisco right fielder Victor Bericoto committed a critical error by letting Busch's batted ball get past him, allowing the runner on second to score. Lee, who had been playing right field through the ninth, moved to center field ahead of the bottom of the 10th.
