Looking to gain ground in the National League playoff picture, the Atlanta Braves turned to an unlikely candidate to upend the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night.
With two out and the game-winning run on second base, Braves manager Walt Weiss turned to his bench and elected to pinch-hit Ha-Seong Kim, owner of an .066 average, with just five hits over 76 plate appearances this season. Kim would face Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott, who leads the team with 19 saves and became the de facto closer this season for Los Angeles due to Edwin Díaz’s multiple injuries.
Kim quickly got ahead of Scott, who misfired three straight four-seamers to fall behind 3-0. But Scott battled back, pumping in a fastball for a called strike one before Kim fouled off a second heater for a full count. Kim fouled off two more, before connecting on Scott’s eighth straight fastball. His sharp single to left was more than enough to allow the speedy Lane Thomas to score from second base, walking the Braves off 6-5 and securing a key series victory over the back-to-back champions.
KIM WALKS IT OFF!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/kq9fOJHbMp
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 27, 2026
The Braves came into the series trailing the Dodgers by 3 1/2 games in the National League standings. They’ve now made up two games in two days thanks to back-to-back late-inning comebacks. That it was Kim who was the hero Wednesday night was nothing short of shocking. Injuries have marred his season. Kim’s last base hit in the majors came June 3 vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. He was 0-for his last 27 coming into his pinch-hit appearance.
The Braves (78-55) will look to sweep the Dodgers in a showdown of the aces Thursday, with Chris Sale tabbed to take on Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
