Padres beat KBO champ Twins in exhibition game
Behind two home runs by their Korean star Kim Ha-seong, the San Diego Padres defeated the defending Korean Series champions LG Twins 5-4 on Monday, their final exhibition game before opening the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season here later this week.
Kim, the Gold Glove-winning infielder, flexed his muscle with a pair of two-run blasts to pace the Padres’ offense.
The Padres’ one other South Korean player, reliever Go Woosuk, got a ho-hum save after giving up a two-run homer to his former Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team in the bottom of the ninth.
For the Twins, captain Oh Ji-hwan hit a solo homer off the new Padres starter Dylan Cease, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox just before the Padres boarded their flight to Seoul last week.
Twins starter Im Chan-kyu struck out seven in five solid innings in a losing cause.
Im struck out the side in the first inning, but then Manny Machado led off the second inning with a double.
Kim followed up with a two-run homer to left-center field, putting the Padres up 2-0.
Oh cut the lead in half with one swing of the bat, sending a 3-2 cutter from Cease, the 2022 American League Cy Young Award runner-up, into right-field seats.
But Kim was at it again, this time hitting a two-run homer off reliever Jung Woo-young in the top sixth for a 4-1 Padres lead.
The Twins got a run back on an RBI groundout by Park Hae-min in the bottom sixth.
The Padres responded right away in the top seventh, with Fernando Tatis Jr. delivering an RBI single to restore a three-run lead for the Padres at 5-2.
Go, who signed with the Padres in January after seven seasons with the Twins, entered the bottom ninth in a save situation. With one out in the ninth, Go served up a two-run home run to Lee Jae-won to make the game a little more interesting.
Go settled down and retired the next two batters to pick up his first spring training save.
Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said the game should provide both clubs with some fond memories.
“I think we’re building up nicely for our new season,” he said. “We didn’t get a ton of hits but overall, it was not such a bad game.”
Youm was Kim Ha-seong’s first KBO manager with the Kiwoom Heroes, and the two chatted briefly before the game. Youm wished nothing but the best for his former pupil.
“I think Chan-kyu did a great job helping Ha-seong find his groove with that home run,” Youm quipped.
Mike Shildt, San Diego’s manager, called Kim’s two-homer performance “fantastic.”
“You can’t script it much better,” he said. “He showed up today. It was a big couple of swings. I loved his approach. He fought his tail off the first at-bat, fouling tough pitches off and then putting a good swing on it. So, a nice job.”