The Major League (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays, 메이저놀이터which were in danger of losing in vain. Tampa Bay’s dramatic victory, which was on the verge of defeat, was played by a home run by a batter who was expelled from the KBO league four years ago.
Tampa Bay won an 8-7 come-from-behind victory in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) home game against the Chicago White Sox held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the 22nd (Korean time). With this victory, Tampa Bay won all 11 games at home this season.
At the end of the first inning, Tampa Bay scored four runs first with Josh Lowe’s two-run double and Harold Ramirez’s two-run home run. However, in the top of the second inning, he immediately gave up three runs to the White Sox and was chased. Then, in the beginning of the 3rd inning, the pitching staff was in trouble, giving up 6 walks, and allowed a 4-6 comeback.
The game went into a lull in the 4th inning after both teams traded points to make it 5-7. Tampa Bay had a chance with 2 out 1st and 2nd base in the 5th inning, but it did not lead to a score.
The game went on and on until the end of the ninth inning. The White Sox tried to keep their lead by switching pitchers to Reynaldo Lopez. And Christian Betancourt (32) appeared at bat. He hit a fastball in the middle of the third pitch and sent the ball to the middle right. The ball went straight, hit the crowd, and bounced back to the ground. After the video review, it was eventually recognized as a home run, and Tampa Bay started chasing.
Brandon Lau, who entered the at-bat with Yandy Diaz as the next hitter, hit a two-run homer that went over the fence in the middle right. In this way, Tampa Bay was able to reap a dramatic come-from-behind victory, 8-7.
Betancourt, who has laid the foundation for the pursuit, is guarding Tampa Bay’s home with Francisco Mejia this season. Until the game on the 22nd, he played in 12 games of the season and recorded a batting average of 0.268, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.982, showing off his slugging power. At this rate, it is possible to hit double-digit homers for two consecutive years.
In fact, Bethancourt was a player who had been off the radar of the big leagues for a while. After debuting in the major leagues in 2013, he did not achieve any significant results, and since 2018 he has not been able to see himself in the big leagues. In the meantime, in 2019 he joined the NC Dinos of the KBO League. He received attention from the opening game, such as becoming the protagonist of the opening No. 1 home run of Changwon NC Park, but since then he has been silent. In the end, he was kicked out in early July of that year, leaving a batting average of 0.246, 8 homers and 28 RBIs in 53 games.
Bethancourt, who returned to the United States, signed a minor league contract from 2020 and tried to return to the major leagues, but failed every time. But last year in Oakland, he finally got a call to the big leagues. After moving to Tampa Bay during the season, he had a career-high season by hitting 11 home runs in 44 games, including 7 home runs. He was selected to represent Panama in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) again this year, and has been showing off his long hitting power since the beginning of the season.