San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco on Aug. 10.AP/YONHAP
San Francisco Giants right fielder Lee Jung-hoo hit his ninth home run of the season on Monday — the most he has managed in a major league season — and lifted his batting average back to .300.
The Giants lost anyway, 6-3, to the Houston Astros in 10 innings at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
Lee batted leadoff for the first time since May 19, when he opened the order against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He needs one more homer for the first double-digit season of his MLB career.
The home run came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and the game tied 1-1. Lee turned on the second pitch he saw from starter Hayden Wesneski, a four-seam fastball on the inside corner, and pulled it well over the right-field wall for a 2-1 lead. The ball left his bat at 105.6 miles per hour and traveled 382 feet.
It was his first home run in six games, since a two-homer night against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 3, and it moved him past the eight he hit last season.
His first two trips to the plate ended badly. Lee popped out to shortstop in the first inning with the Giants already down 1-0, then grounded into an inning-ending double play in his second at-bat.
San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco on Aug. 10.AP/YONHAP
San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo, left, rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco on Aug. 10.AP/YONHAP
He came back in the eighth. Leading off against reliever Steven Okert with San Francisco ahead 3-2, Lee just got the bat on an outside slider and poked a single into left field for his 35th multihit game of the season.
Lee finished 2-for-5 with a home run, a run and an RBI. His average climbed from .298 to .300, with 124 hits in 414 at-bats.
San Francisco carried its 3-2 lead into the ninth before Houston tied the game, then gave up three runs in the 10th once the automatic runner was placed at second. Lee ended it himself. With two out and a runner on second in the bottom half, he grounded out to shortstop.
The loss was San Francisco's third in a row. The Giants fell to 49-70 and stayed fourth in the National League West.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
