Ji Hwan Bae’s Flair For The Dramatic on Full Display (+)
PITTSBURGH — When you think about Ji Hwan Bae, power might not be the first attribute that comes to mind, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hit one over the fence.
Bae connected on a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give him his first-career walk-off hit and it gave the Pirates a 7-4 win over the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros.
“When there’s pressure, I feel like I’m more concentrated,” Bae said on his game-winning home run.
Bae didn’t let the pressure get to him in the biggest spot of the game. The Pirates’ second baseman had two strikes against one of the better closers in the league in Ryan Pressly and ensured he put himself into a good position to deliver.
“It was two strikes and I didn’t want to (strikeout). Also, I was doing a leg-kick before and I tried not to do that and I hit the home run,” Bae said.
Bae’s second-career home run was probably the biggest one he’s hit yet, but the first one he hit was a pretty big deal too.
A first-career round-tripper is always a big deal, but Bae’s was maybe even more memorable than most. Back on April 4, Bae launched a two-run homer over Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster. That blast also gave the Pirates the lead, putting them up 2-1 over the Red Sox. The Bucs went on to win the game 4-1.
“It’s a huge honor because these kind of ballparks are only ballparks I used to see in the games when I was younger.”
The bright lights can sometimes be overwhelming for a young player. Tuesday’s game against the Astros was only the 19th career game for Bae in his brief big league career.
Even if Bae might not have as much seasoning as a big leaguer as some of his peers, even his manager knows he likes to be in the big spots.
“Yeah, I think he likes the lights. We’ve talked about guys doing that but I would say he likes the lights.”
Bae will be counted on to provide some aid to a Pirates’ lineup that will be without the services of Oneil Cruz for the foreseeable future.
Bae got a shot to bat leadoff for the first time this season in wake of Cruz’s absence and delivered the kind of outcome you might expect from the 6-foot-7 shortstop.