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Dodgers' Kim Hye-seong slams first homer of the season

Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 16:31

Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers, right, hits a two-run home run against the New York Mets during the clubs' MLB regular-season game at Dodger Stadium on April 15 in this Getty Images photo. [YONHAP]

Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers has gone deep for the first time this season.

Kim smoked a two-run home run off New York Mets starter Clay Holmes in the bottom of the second inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, as the Dodgers went on to take the game 8-2.

With a runner at second, Kim crushed a hanging sinker from Holmes and sent it 372 feet into the seats in right field for a 2-0 Dodgers lead.

Kim, who got the start at shortstop and batted ninth, struck out in each of his next three at-bats — against Holmes in the bottom fourth, and reliever Tobias Myers in the bottom sixth and finally against another reliever, Devin Williams, in the bottom eighth.

The Dodgers have won three straight games. The two-time defending World Series champions lead the National League (NL) West with a 14-4 record.

He is batting .278 in eight games this season since being called up from the minors earlier this month.

Kim had a .407 batting average in spring training when he was sent to Triple-A. The Dodgers wanted the South Korean player to work on making better swing decisions. While collecting 11 hits in 27 spring at-bats, Kim had drawn just one walk and struck out eight times.

Since his call-up, Kim has had eight strikeouts in 18 at-bats and only half as many walks.

As a rookie in 2025, Kim had an even more dramatic discrepancy in those categories, with 52 strikeouts against just seven walks in 161 at-bats.

Also Wednesday in the majors, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants batted 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lee raised his batting average to .213 through 18 games and has now reached base multiple times in four of his past five games.

The Giants fell 8-3 for their fourth consecutive loss. At 6-12, they are tied for last in the NL West with the Colorado Rockies.

Yonhap