Ji-Man Choi (San Diego Padres) collected his first RBI since being acquired.
San Diego defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-2 in the first game of the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on April 21. Ji-Man Choi came in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly.
San Diego’s lineup was: Bogart (shortstop), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field), Juan Soto (left field), Manny Machado (designated hitter), Garrett Cooper (first base), Matthew Batten (second base), Brett Sullivan (catcher), Jose Asoka (center field), and Egui Rosario (third base). The starting pitcher is Seth Lugo.
Chase Anderson got the start for Colorado and the lineup was Charlie Blackmon (designated hitter)-Brendan Rogers (second base)-Nolan Jones (left field)-Kris Bryant (first base)-Ryan McMahon (third base)-Ezequiel Tovar (shortstop)-Sean Buchard (right field)-Brenton Doyle (center field)-Austin Wynnes (catcher).
Colorado struck first in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded, Rogers crushed a 93.6 mph (~150 km/h) fastball from Lugo over the left-center field fence. Colorado’s offense didn’t stop there. Jones singled to center. Bryant flied out to right field, but McMahon singled to put runners on second and third, and Tova followed with an RBI single.
San Diego answered right back. It was Bogart’s turn to score. In the bottom of the first inning, Bogaerts led off with an infield single. He then stole second base on Tatis’ single and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Wins. Tatis fouled out to first, but Soto followed with a grounder to second to make it 1-2.
But then the game went into a lull. Lugo retired the side in order in both the second and third innings. In the fourth, he gave up a leadoff walk to McMahon, but retired both Tova and Buchard on grounders to short. He then got Doyle to fly out to right field.
Lugo was in big trouble in the fifth. After striking out Winthrop, he walked Blackmon. He got Rogers to fly out to shortstop to give himself some breathing room, but gave up a double to Jones to put runners on second and third. But he struck out Bryant to end the threat. Bryant protested the strikeout call and was eventually ejected.
Lugo started the top of the sixth with back-to-back singles to McMahon and Tova, but he got Buchard to fly out to center field and induced Doyle to ground into a double play to end the inning.
San Diego loaded the bases in every inning from the second through the fourth, but couldn’t capitalize. In the bottom of the second, Cooper led off with a single. However, Batten hit a grounder in front of the shortstop and Cooper was thrown out at second. Batten then attempted to steal second, but was thrown out at the plate.
In the bottom of the third, with two outs and no one on base, Bogart doubled to put runners in scoring position, but Tatis struck out. In the bottom of the fourth, Soto led off with a walk. But Machado came through with the big hit. Tova’s defense at shortstop was good. San Diego started the sixth inning with a leadoff single by Rosario, but Bogart grounded out to third base and Tatis struck out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Padres had their best chance. Soto led off with a walk. After Machado flied out to center field, Cooper singled. Colorado pulled Anderson and brought up Justin Lawrence. Batten laid down a bunt on Lawrence’s first pitch and stole second base. The bases were loaded. Pinch-hitter Luis Camposano followed with an RBI single to tie the game.
San Diego pulled the bases loaded once again. Ji-Man Choi was brought in to pinch-hit for Asoka. Choi hit a two-pitch 94.6 mph (152 km/h) sinker from Lawrence. It was well hit and stretched out behind center field. But Doyle leaped and caught it on the walking track. But in the meantime, pinch-hitter Trent Grisham tagged up and came home.
In the top of the eighth, Scott Barlow struck out three to shut down the Colorado offense. Closer Josh Hader took the mound in the top of the ninth and led off with a single to Doyle. Pinch-hitter Elias Diaz followed with a walk. That put runners at first and second. Blackmon grounded out to the pitcher. Meanwhile, Doyle advanced to third. With runners on second and third, Heider got Rogers to fly out to right field to end the game.
Choi, who came to San Diego from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline in August, has yet to get his first hit in San Diego. In the first inning of the game, he hit a nice line drive to center field, but was unfortunately caught on the walking track. However, he did manage to get his first hit after the trade. Choi’s RBI single extended San Diego’s winning streak to seven games 메이저사이트.
Lugo pitched six innings, allowing two runs (two earned) on seven hits (one home run) with two walks and seven strikeouts. Luis Garcia picked up the win in the top of the seventh. It was his second win of the season. With his third straight win, Heider improved to 31 saves this season. Anderson suffered his sixth loss of the season after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He pitched well through the sixth inning and was looking for his first win of the season before collapsing in the seventh.
Kim Ha-seong missed his fourth straight game due to “abdominal pain. He was named to the bench, but did not start the game. Bogaerts, who replaced Kim in the leadoff spot, went 3-for-4 with a home run and a run scored. Cooper also had a multi-hit game, while Soto and Camposano each had one hit.