Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed hitter Choi Ji-man is highly unlikely to be used as a starting pitcher when a lefty is selected. Since he is not a fixture, he is a victim of the platoon system used in right-left matchups.
Head coach Derek Selton, who lost his team’s five-tool player shortstop O’Neill Cruz in a collision with the catcher at the home plate the previous day, included Choi Ji-man, who was in an early slump, in the lineup as designated hitter No. 5 against the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on the 11th (Korean time). made it
Houston’s starting pitcher is left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 1.89). A top-notch lefty who recorded 17 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 2.82 last year.
At the end of the second inning, trailing 0-4, Choi passed Valdez’s 7th pitch, 153km (95 miles), into the middle of the four-seam fastball to the left midwall fence at PNC Park. The season’s beastly home run. Allowed Valdes’ 6th career home run against a left-handed hitter.
For Choi Ji-man, a home run against a left-hander is the first feat in four years. It’s the first time since 2019 that Oakland ace bullpen left-hander Ryan Bookter was picked. This is because during the Tampa Bay Rays, he rarely had a left-left matchup opportunity. Until the game against Houston, left-handed opponents recorded 51 hits in 282 at-bats (.181), 5 homers, 26 RBIs, 25 walks, and 91 strikeouts.
Valdez, who was hit by a home run by left-handed batter Choi Ji-man, later struck out in the 4th inning and struck out in the 5th induction. Choi Ji-man also struck out right-hander Seth Martinez in the 9th inning and recorded 1 hit, 1 RBI, and 2 strikeouts in 4 at-bats. His batting average was 0.087.
Bae Ji-hwan, a left-handed hitter who was a super utilityman, was absent due to Valdez’s 토토사이트appearance. Right-handed hitter Mark Mathias started as second baseman against Houston and went 0-for-3.
Houston, who fell into a mini slump in the early stages, concentrated on 13 hits without a home run and beat Pittsburgh 8-3 to record 5 wins and 6 losses in the season. Valdez posted his first win of the season with 3 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts and 2 runs in 7 innings. Pittsburgh is 6-4.