Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) extended his hitting streak to 15 consecutive games.
Lee started as the No. 5 hitter and right fielder in the Giants' road game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, in Major League Baseball (MLB) on Monday Korea time, going 1-for-4 with one RBI and one stolen base.
With that, Lee broke his own longest consecutive-game hitting streak by one more game. The streak began against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 15. Following the previous day, he succeeded in stealing a base for the second straight game, recording his second stolen base of the season.
His season batting average dipped slightly to .323 (71 hits in 220 at-bats). He maintained fourth place overall in batting average among hitters who have qualified for the MLB plate-appearance minimum. He is tied for fourth with teammate Luis Arraez.
In the top of the first inning, with two outs and runners on first and second, Lee connected on a 144 km/h high cutter from opposing starter Jameson Taillon, lining a center-field single to drive in the team's first run. He then immediately stole second base, but failed to score as the next batter, Bryce Eldridge, was retired on a fly ball to left field.
He then struggled against reliever Javier Assad. In the third and sixth innings, he was retired on grounders to second against Assad both times.
With one out in the ninth, facing the opponent's fourth pitcher Daniel Palencia, Lee got a good swing on a fifth-pitch 146 km/h slider that drifted over the middle with the count at 2-2, but the ball settled into a fly out to center field.
In the 10th inning, with the tiebreaker rule in effect and a runner on second with no outs, San Francisco made it 2-1 on Matt Chapman's center-field RBI single. In the bottom of the 10th, closer Dylan Smith retired the side in order to end the game. The Giants maintained fourth place in the National League (NL) West with a 27-39 record and a .409 winning percentage.
San Diego Padres' Song Sung-moon, who recorded a multi-hit game the previous day, stayed on the bench in the team's home game against the New York Mets at Petco Park in San Diego, California. San Diego lost 3-7. The Padres maintained third place in the NL West with a 33-31 record and a .516 winning percentage.
Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta Braves), who returned to action the previous day after three games but went silent at 0-for-3, also sat out the home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta won 3-2 to extend its winning streak to three games. The Braves maintained first place in the NL East with a 45-21 record and a .682 winning percentage, the best winning percentage in the league overall.
