The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bae Ji-hwan continued his hitting streak for the second straight game. However, his unfortunate stolen base in the fourth inning led to a complete mound collapse and the team’s loss.

Bae went 1-for-3 with a run scored, one RBI, and one strikeout in the eighth inning of the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on June 14 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, USA. Bae’s season batting average rose slightly to .271.

On the day, Pittsburgh went with the following starting batting order: Macano (shortstop), Reynolds (designated hitter), Swinski (center field), Santana (first base), Cho (left field), Palacios (right field), Hays (third base), Bae (second base), and Hedges (catcher).안전놀이터

Pittsburgh’s Bae Ji-hwan had to watch his team lose with an unfortunate stolen base. Photo by AFPBBNews=News1
Pittsburgh got on the board two batters later in the first inning when Swinski crushed a three-pitch 93.9 mph fastball from starter Taijuan for a grand slam over the wall.

However, Pittsburgh answered right back in the bottom of the first. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the first, Pittsburgh starter Ortiz allowed Happ to hit a three-run arch that traveled 118 meters.

Pittsburgh battled back in the top of the second with an RBI single by Bae. One out later, Palacios led off the inning with a double down the left field line. A grounder to second by Hayes put runners on second and third with two outs, and Bae, in his first at-bat of the day, took a three-pitch 94-mph fastball on a 1B-1S count for a single to left. A wild pitch prevented Bae from stealing and scoring.

After a brief lull in the game, Bae stepped to the plate for the second time in the top of the fourth inning with runners on first and second. After reaching first base on a grounder to second, Bae attempted to steal second base on a wild pitch.

The ball was thrown by the opposing catcher for an out. The second base umpire’s first call was safe. It appeared that Bae’s glove did not make contact with his body. However, the Cubs bench immediately filed a video challenge, which showed that Bae made contact with the fielder’s glove before closing in on second base, and the call was overturned. It was a disappointing stolen base that threw cold water on the chase.

Pittsburgh’s Bae Ji-hwan hits for the second straight game. Photo by AFPBBNews=News1
Pittsburgh tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth when leadoff hitter Swinski hit a 125-meter solo home run to right field.

However, Pittsburgh regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Moretta, who was relieved by Ortiz with runners on first and second, hit an RBI single off Mavis.

In the top of the seventh, Bae stepped to the plate for the third time with the bases loaded, but was hit by a four-pitch swinging strike by reliever Merriweather.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen completely collapsed in the bottom of the seventh. Pittsburgh loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, starting with a bases-loaded walk to Swanson and back-to-back RBI singles to Bears. For a moment, the score was 3-8.

Eventually, Pittsburgh gave up another run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 3-11. Bae was removed from the game in the top of the ninth and replaced by Castro to close out the game. With the loss, Pittsburgh fell to 34-31 on the season and remained in first place in the National League Central.