Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates)스포츠토토 hit a home run in a rehab game. He is preparing to return to the major leagues.
Bae started in center field and went 1-for-3 with a home run, one RBI, one run scored, one walk and one strikeout in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2023 minor league game against the Triple-A Gwinnett Strikers at Cooley Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on June 6 (ET). Gwinnett’s Hyo-Jun Park batted seventh and went 0-for-3 in right field.
Bae led off the first inning with a walk and was retired on a wild pitch. In a 1B2S situation, a five-pitch slider was high in the strike zone, but he struck out.
Bae walked with the bases loaded in the top of the third. With two on and two out, he saw two changeups that were out of the strike zone. However, Nick Gonzalez struck out to end the inning.
Bae Ji-hwan homered in the top of the sixth inning, trailing 1-0. He led off with a walk and took a changeup from Alan Wynans over the center field wall. It was his first home run in a rehab game. He was replaced by Ryan Villard to close out the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Park reached base in three at-bats, but was retired on a foul fly, a grounder to first base and a grounder to shortstop. In 69 minor league games this season, Park is batting .282 with five home runs, 29 RBIs, 35 runs scored and a .798 OPS.
Bae was injured in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 2. After batting third in the eighth inning, he realized something was wrong with his left ankle. He headed to the dugout without being able to make a proper base running play.
Upon examination, Bae was found to have a bad left ankle ligament and was placed on the injured list (IL). After completing his rehabilitation, Bae began playing rehab games over the past two days to improve his game feel.
Bae has reached base in three consecutive games in his rehabilitation, and he recorded his first hit in the last four games, drawing a home run arch in that game.
Meanwhile, Bae is batting .238 with two home runs, 19 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, and a .609 OPS in the major leagues this season.