4 Hits in MLB Return: Lee Jung-hoo’s Explosive Comeback for the Giants

Daniel Kim 2026.05.31 Views

Translation result

Lee Jung-hoo / Photo courtesy of Getty Images

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), who had been sidelined with a back muscle strain, erupted offensively in his return.

On the morning of the 30th at 9:40 a.m. (Korean time), Lee started in right field and batted sixth for the Giants at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, in a 2026 Major League Baseball road game against the Colorado Rockies. He finished 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

It was Lee’s first MLB action in 11 days since the May 19 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He left that game with back muscle discomfort and was placed on the 10-day injured list on the 23rd.

Activated to the roster ahead of this matchup, Lee looked right back in form from the first pitch.

He grounded out to first in his first plate appearance in the second inning. In the fourth, with the game tied 1-1, Lee delivered his first hit of the day.

With one out and a runner on first, he lined a single into right field off Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen. The Giants took the lead on a Daniel Susac sacrifice fly, and Bryce Eldridge walked to set up a two-out, runners-on-first-and-second situation. Lee then scored on Harrison Bader’s RBI single to center.

Riding that momentum, Lee led off the sixth and laced a single to left off reliever Wellington Herrera for his second hit. After one out, he moved to second on Eldridge’s walk but the rally stalled and he remained stranded.

In the eighth, Lee produced an extra-base hit. Leading off the frame, he turned on the fourth pitch from reliever Keegan Thompson — a 92.9-mph fastball (about 149.5 km/h) — and drove it into left for a double. He advanced to third on Susac’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Eldridge’s sacrifice fly to add another run.

Lee’s bat stayed hot into the late innings. In the ninth, with two outs and a runner on first and the Giants leading 6-3, he ripped a single to center to complete a four-hit outing.

The four-hit performance extended Lee’s hitting streak to six games and lifted his season average from .268 to .283 (52 hits in 184 at-bats). His season line now reads: .283 batting average, 3 home runs, 17 RBIs, 22 runs scored and a .725 OPS.

Lee was active on defense as well. In the bottom of the fourth, with two outs and runners at second and third, he sprinted to right field and hauled in a hard-hit ball after it caromed off the wall. In the fifth, again with two outs and runners at second and third, he dove and secured a line drive to center while going to the ground, showing sharp concentration.

Despite Lee’s two-way effort, the Giants could not close it out.

With San Francisco ahead 6-3 in the bottom of the ninth, closer Caleb Kilian allowed a three-run game-tying homer to Hunter Goodman and then gave up a two-run shot down the left-field line to Ezequiel Tovar, turning the frame into an 8-6 walk-off loss for the Giants.

The defeat marked San Francisco’s fourth straight loss, dropping them to 22-35 and fourth place in the National League West. Colorado fell to 21-37 and remains fifth in the division.