Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun seeks 2nd win of season vs. familiar foe

All News 10:34 September 01, 2020

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun will go for his second win of the season against the same team that he beat for his first career victory less than two weeks ago.

Kim will take the mound against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday local time, or 7:40 a.m. Wednesday in Seoul.

In this Associated Press file photo from Aug. 22, 2020, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (Yonhap)

It will be Kim's fourth career Major League Baseball (MLB) start and his second against the Reds. He held them scoreless over six innings of three-hit ball on Aug. 22, helping the Cardinals to a 3-0 victory. He struck out three and walked none.

Kim followed that up with another strong six-inning performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday, with the lone Pirates run off Kim being an unearned run.

In his previous meeting against the Reds, No. 9 hitter Kyle Farmer had two of the team's three hits against the left-hander. Jesse Winker, who ranked second in MLB with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.122 before Monday's action, had the other hit, a fifth-inning double.

Winker batted sixth in that game. The top four hitters in the Reds' lineup were a combined 0-for-11 with a strikeout against Kim.

In this Associated Press photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pauses after giving up an RBI single to Jacob Stallings of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the top of the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Aug. 27, 2020. (Yonhap)

The Cardinals got three runs off Wade Miley in that game but may find it tougher to score against the Reds' starter this time, right-hander Sonny Gray.

Gray is 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA, the fourth-best mark in the National League (NL). He is tied with Washington Nationals' ace Max Scherzer for second in the NL with 55 strikeouts, and opponents are only batting .180 off Gray, the third-lowest mark in the Senior Circuit.

Gray faced the Cardinals on Aug. 20 and gave up two runs on four hits in six innings in a no-decision. The Cardinals won the game 5-4, after scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth inning.