Bae comes through for Pirates
South Korean utility man Bae Ji-hwan has come through with a big hit in his major league season debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates hours after getting called up from the minors.
Bae batted 1-for3 with an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a steal, as the Pirates rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat the San Francisco Giants 7-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Bae was brought up from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day and put into the starting lineup for his 2024 season debut, batting ninth and playing center field.
He grounded
into a
forceout in the bottom of the second but drew a walk in the fifth inning before stealing second base and later scoring on a forceout by Bryan Reynolds.
That run got the Pirates within two at 4-2, though the Giants added a run each in the seventh and eighth innings to build a 6-2 cushion.
The Pirates refused to go away and pulled even with a four-run ninth inning.
Bae stepped in with one out with the bases loaded and knocked in a run to make it 6-3 with a single off reliever Camilo Doval.
After the Pirates added two more runs, Bae scored the tying run on a double by Oneil Cruz.
The Pirates then walked off the Giants with a single by Nick Gonzales in the bottom of the 10th.
Bae was placed on the 10-day injured list on March 28, retroactive to March 25, due to a strain of his left hip muscle. He was sent to Single-A Bradenton and then to Indianapolis on a rehab assignment before the Pirates activated him from the IL on
April 14.
Bae remained with the TripleA club and swung a hot bat, to the tune of a .376 batting average and a 1.048 on-base plus slugging (OPS) in 27 games, along with four home runs, 15 RBIs and seven steals. (Yonhap)
Cubs vs. Braves
CHICAGO (AP) — Nico Hoerner hit a game-ending infield single in the 10th inning in his return to the lineup, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Tuesday night.
The Cubs had runners on the corners with one out in the 10th when the Braves brought their infield in. Hoerner then hit a high chopper to the right side that first baseman Matt Olson and second baseman Ozzie Albies converged on.
Albies had no play as Cody Bellinger scampered home with the winning run. It was Hoerner’s first hit after missing six straight games with left hamstring tightness.
Mike Tauchman had two hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, who had dropped three of four. Luke Little (1-0) pitched a perfect 10th for his first career win.