It’s time to go for the Silver Slugger, not just the Gold Glove. San Diego Padres center fielder Ha Sung Kim, 27, is literally hitting like a champ .Kim went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk in the leadoff spot in the Padres’ 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on Sunday (July 7).He extended his multi-hit streak to 14 games (two or more hits in a game) dating back to March 23 against the Detroit Tigers and 12 games dating back to March 25 against the Pittsburgh Pirates .Kim’s batting performance has been climbing toward the top .He’s batting .287 on the season, which ranks ninth in the National League in that category .He is eighth in slugging percentage (.384), tied for 14th in OPS (.839), and tied for sixth in stolen bases (24).At this point, there’s been some joking around about whether he should try for the Silver Slugger (which is based solely on hitting).Kim was considered a “specialty defender” until last season .He was a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop in the National League last year (based solely on his defense), but it was widely believed that his hitting was limited .However, Kim has been working on his batting this past winter and has developed into one of the best 스포츠토토링크 hitters in the league .On this particular day, Kim showed off his batting prowess. In the first inning, he grounded out to third against Dodgers starter Hyun-Soo Lin, but in the third inning, trailing 1-6, he drew a full-count walk to load the bases. The hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two on and two out, Kim scooped up a three-pitch low curveball from Lin and lined it over the left-field fence for a single .Kim has often been able to convert low pitches into hits this season. On this day, he used his unique hitting skills to complete his multi-hit performance. Down 2-6 in the bottom of the seventh, he struck out for the final out. Meanwhile, Choi Ji-Man, who recently moved to San Diego, started in the seventh spot in the lineup and played alongside Kim Ha-Sung .Choi went 0-for-4, dropping his season batting average to .190. San Diego lost 2-8 as veteran starter Rich Hill, who was traded along with Choi, was rocked for six runs on four hits in three innings.