Atlanta Braves shortstop Kim Ha-seong throws a runner out at first against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Truist Park, May 12. Brett Davis-Imagn Images via Reuters-Yonhap
The Atlanta Braves' South Korean shortstop Kim Ha-seong has marked his long-awaited season debut with a walk and a key defensive play.
Kim went 0-for-3 with a walk from the No. 8 spot in the lineup, as the Braves defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2 at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday (local time).
Kim, 30, signed a one-year, $20 million contract with the Braves in December after spending the latter portion of the 2025 season with them. But a finger injury suffered in a fall on ice in South Korea in January had kept him out of big league action until this week. He had played in nine rehab games in the minors before getting called up for the Cubs series earlier in the week.
Kim was robbed of a base hit by second baseman Nico Hoerner, who dove to his left to snatch a grounder toward the hole on the right side and threw out Kim.
Kim popped out in the fifth, got a walk in the sixth and grounded out in the eighth.
In the top of the fourth inning, with the bases loaded and the game tied at 1-1, Kim ranged to his left to field a grounder off the bat of Moises Ballesteros and got the force at second, keeping the damage to just one Cubs run.
The Braves rallied with a four-spot in the bottom fifth and improved to 29-13, the best record in Major League Baseball.
Source: Korea Times News
