Choi Ji-man (32, Pittsburgh Pirates)’s hit streak has been suspended for four consecutive games. This is due to his team’s stance, which focused on rookie experiments and platooning.

Choi Ji-man played in the top of the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 18th (Korea Standard Time) and stepped down after recording no hits and one strikeout in one at-bat. Pittsburgh lost 0-11 and has recently lost four consecutive games.

Despite the recent good batting sense, he failed to make the starting lineup for two consecutive games. Choi Ji-man boasted his sense of hitting with his third home run and double of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 10th, the best game in the first half. He then hit home runs in two consecutive games against the San Francisco Giants on the 15th, the first game of the second half. He continued his hit streak in four consecutive games against San Francisco on the 16th.

However, his name has been omitted from the starting lineup since the match against San Francisco on the 17th. At that time, the opposing 토토사이트 starting pitcher was left-handed Alex Wood. Choi Ji-man, who had been used as a platoon against right-handed pitchers since Tampa Bay, was excluded on the day, and Carlos Santana, who was also a first baseman and designated hitter, was named the starting batter. Choi Ji-man finished the game with a walk in just one at-bat.

It wasn’t even a platoon in the match on the 18th. Opponent starter Jabion Curry was a right-handed pitcher, but Pittsburgh chose Santana over Choi Ji-man. Of course, Santana’s choice wasn’t wrong. Santana also had one hit and one walk in two at-bats. However, Choi Ji-man, who had been on the rise, had no choice but to exclude the starting lineup for two consecutive games.

The more problem was with other players, not Santana. On this day, Pittsburgh hired a large number of new players. Starting pitchers Queen Frister and Force Andy Rodriguez made their big league debut on this day. A total of six players were rookies, including right fielder Henry Davis, third baseman Jared Triolo, second baseman Nick Gonzalez and shortstop Reover Peguer.

Both the battery and the fielder were rookies, so there was no turning back when the game shook. Prister had nine consecutive batters until the third inning, but then collapsed quickly. In the top of the fourth inning, Ahmed Rosario allowed the first run with a two-run shot and gave up four runs in the sixth inning following one run in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning with no outs and a runner on first base, Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Andres Jimenez allowed a series of long hits with double-double-home runs. Cleveland scored a two-run left-center goal against Johan Ramirez in the top of the seventh inning to secure the victory.

Choi Ji-man played his part in defense even with few opportunities. In the top of the ninth inning, trailing 0-10, he caught Miles Straw’s hit between first and second base in a two-out full base crisis. It seemed to prevent a run, but as a result, it failed to stop. Pitcher Yeri de los Santos did not enter the first base cover. In the end, the batter, Straw, arrived at first base first, and Choi Ji-man’s good defense ended meaninglessly. In the at-bat, he also struck out swinging as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Meanwhile, with the loss, Pittsburgh finished at the bottom of the National League Central with 41 wins and 53 losses (0.536 winning rate). The decline is so serious that the competition for the lead in April is overshadowed. It has become difficult to expect the rest of the season’s performance to the extent that closer David Bedna and others are mentioned as trade candidates.