San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto, who had just one sacrifice bunt in his career, attempted to bunt for the second day in a row. It’s not common.
In an interview after an away game with the St. Louis Cardinals held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on the 31st (Korean time), Soto expressed his thoughts on the bunt attempt, saying, “I will do anything to win.”
Soto, who played second in left field that day, sent Dae Kim Ha-seong to second base with a bunt when Kim Ha-seong reached base with a heavy hit in the first inning. It was the first time he recorded a sacrifice bunt since 2018, his rookie year. An interesting fact is that even then, the venue was Busch Stadium and the opposing pitcher was Miles Michaels.
He tried to bunt in the same situation the previous day as well. At that time, the catcher’s throw was out of the way, leading to opportunities for second and third base safely.
“I’m doing everything I can to get an early lead,” Soto said of why he bunt. He explained the reason, saying, “Kimi (nickname of Ha-seong Kim) is very hot right now, so I want to send him into the scoring zone to score early and ease the burden of selection.”
He has his own reasons, but forcing a batter with a batting average of 0.260 and an on-base percentage of 0.400 to bunt might be a waste of his talent.
Still, Soto said, “I will do anything to win. I don’t care.
Despite Soto’s sacrifice, the team suffered a come-from-behind defeat, 5-6, with a two-run home run by Tommy Edman in the ninth inning.
Soto expressed regret, saying, “All defeats are painful, but defeats like today belong to the upper ranks.” “We’ve been playing good baseball, but we’re not finishing. We are doing everything we can to win, but things are not going the way we want.”토토사이트
Coach Bob Melvin said: “Today we played a really good game. A hit came from scoring position, an early lead, and a run scored in the second half. The bullpen also contributed.”
“Anytime Hader misses a save opportunity, it comes as a shock. Because he is the best pitcher. It’s something that happens,” he said, swallowing regret.
With the defeat, San Diego accepted a disastrous report card of 1 win and 5 losses in 6 consecutive away matches from Milwaukee to St. Louis. It’s one step further from postseason contention.
Starter Rich Hill answered a question asking about his thoughts on the team’s sluggish performance as a veteran, saying, “It’s hard to explain.” He said, “There were a lot of unfortunate things. Especially in the attack, that happened a lot. It seems that the 14 balls hit only in the home game were caught on the warning track. The same goes for expeditions. That’s all I can explain,” he continued.
“Our players are doing everything they can to win, but it doesn’t lead to results,” he said. Everyone is in despair. Baseball is said to be an unforgiving game, and we are experiencing it now.”