Dodgers’ Kim belts 2nd home run of season, enjoys 4-hit night

Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers has gone deep for the second time this season as part of his career-best four-hit game.

Kim batted 4-for-4 with two RBIs and scored three times, as the Dodgers hammered the New York Yankees 18-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday (local time).

Kim batted ninth and got the start at shortstop, with the incumbent Mookie Betts sidelined with a broken toe. And Kim, in his first start since May 26, capitalized on that opportunity.

After drawing a walk in the bottom of the first inning, Kim launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning.

With a runner at second and the Dodgers up 8-0, Kim drilled a 2-2 fastball from left-hander Brent Headrick and sent it 412 feet into the seats in right field.

It was Kim’s first at-bat and first hit against a left-handed pitcher this season.

Kim singled off new pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. to begin the bottom of the fifth inning. He advanced to third on a single by Shohei Ohtani and came home to make it an 11-1 game for the Dodgers on Freddie Freeman’s double.

Kim moved to center field to start the top of the sixth inning, and then picked up his third hit of the game with a single in the bottom sixth.

Kim then set a career high with his fourth hit of the game with a double in the bottom eighth. Dalton Rushing cashed in Kim with a home run.

Kim is now batting .422/.458/.600 in 21 games.

Earlier Saturday in the majors, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants batted 2-for-5 in a 1-0 loss to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park in Miami. Lee also swiped second base in the first inning for his fifth steal of this season.

Lee is batting .277/.325/.438 in 57 games.

The Giants outhit the Marlins 8-3 but failed to get a run across the plate. The Giants have scored just seven runs in their past five games and lost four of them.