Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres waves to fans before the start of an exhibition game against the South Korean national team at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)
The San Diego Padres eked out a 1-0 win over the South Korean national team in their first exhibition game in Seoul on Sunday.
The Padres scored their only run on a wild pitch by South Korean starter Moon Dong-ju in the top of the first inning at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
South Korea outhit the Padres 5-4, but squandered some late scoring opportunities against the Padres bullpen.
Kim Ha-seong, the South Korean shortstop for the Padres, batted 1-for-4 in his homecoming in front of 12,497 fans. He spent the final five seasons of his seven-year Korea Baseball Organization career with Gocheok as his home park.
The Padres will next play the LG Twins, the 2023 Korean Series Champions, at noon Monday. They will then battle the Los Angeles Dodgers for two games in the season-opening Seoul Series on Wednesday and Thursday. These will be the first Major League Baseball regular season games ever in South Korea.
The Padres scored their run without the benefit of a hit.
South Korean starter Moon Dong-ju walked the bases loaded. And after retiring the next two batters, Moon threw a wild pitch that allowed Xander Bogaerts to come home.
Moon settled down and had a three-up, three-down second inning. And four pitchers that followed held the Padres to just four hits and a walk the rest of the way.
South Korea could have pulled off an upset with some timely hits.
Moon Bo-gyeong's one-out double in the seventh didn't amount to anything. South Korea pieced together two straight singles with two outs in the eighth, but No. 3 hitter Kang Baek-ho hit a weak grounder back to the mound.
Padres closer Robert Suarez gave up a single and a walk to start the top of the ninth. But then Park Seong-han popped out to third base and Choi Ji-hoon bounced into a game-ending double play.
The Padres' one other South Korean player, reliever Go Woo-suk, did not see action Sunday.
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