Giants' Lee Jung-hoo scores run in home debut; Padres' Kim Ha-seong goes hitless in Korean duel
SAN FRANCISCO, April 5 (Yonhap) -- The San Francisco Giants' South Korean rookie Lee Jung-hoo scored a run in his first home game of the season Friday, helping his team past fellow Korean Kim Ha-seong and the San Diego Padres 3-2 at Oracle Park.
Kim went 0-for-4 at the plate but played a solid game at shortstop.
Lee drew a walk against starter Dylan Cease to lead off the game and then scored from first on a two-out double by Michael Conforto.
Lee has now reached base safely in seven of his first eight games but had only scored once prior to Saturday -- on his own solo home run on March 30 against the Padres.
Lee lined out to first baseman Jake Cronenworth to start the third and grounded out to Cronenworth again in the fifth.
Lee grounded out to Kim in his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth.
The Giants began the season with seven games on the road -- four in San Diego and three more in Los Angeles -- before coming home. Lee received a warm reception from over 40,000 fans at Oracle Park, and even his father, retired South Korean baseball legend Lee Jong-beom, was introduced on the scoreboard during the eighth inning.
The junior Lee said he was taken aback by the image of his father popping up on the screen.
"At first, I didn't know what was going on. And then once I took a look at the screen, my father was up there," Lee said with a smile. "I was like, 'What's going on?'"
Lee's family members were among thousands of Giants fans cheering on the South Korean rookie. Jung-hoo said he enjoyed the partisan atmosphere at home, something he wasn't accustomed to while playing in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
In typical KBO games, fans for the visiting team also make up a significant portion of the crowd. Some popular visiting teams may even have more fans than the home team.
"This was very new to me," Lee said. "It was fun playing in front of so many home fans."
As for not picking up a hit in two straight games, Lee said: "I feel like I've been making good contact. I've got to find the solution quickly."
After going hitless Friday, Lee is now batting .226/.297/.323 for the season. He has drawn four walks.
Kim's average dropped to .216 after a couple of hard-hit balls couldn't find their way past the infield. He is 2-for-15 in four games this month, on the heels of a three-hit effort on March 31.
The Giants improved to 3-5, and the Padres fell to 4-6.
As National League West rivals, the Giants and the Padres will meet 13 times this year. They had a four-game series in San Diego in March, and Friday's game was the first of a three-game set in San Francisco.
The six remaining games between the clubs will all be played in September.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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