NEW YORK -- Jung Hoo Lee¡¯s first trip to New York was certainly one to remember.
Two days after homering in the first at-bat of his Yankee Stadium debut, Lee went deep two more times to power the Giants to a 5-4 comeback win in Sunday¡¯s series finale in the Bronx.
Lee put San Francisco on the board with a solo home run off former Giants left-hander Carlos Rod¨®n in the fourth. He then turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead with a three-run, go-ahead shot in the sixth.
Lee¡¯s first career multihomer game allowed the Giants (11-4) to take two of three from the Yankees and secure their first series victory at Yankee Stadium since Interleague play began in 2002.
¡°Quite a series for Jung Hoo here at Yankee Stadium,¡± manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°It¡¯s pretty remarkable.
¡°A lot of these guys he¡¯s never faced before, and he¡¯s going to continue to face guys he¡¯s never seen before. But that¡¯s kind of where the bat-to-ball skills come into play. He feels like he can put anybody in play. When he¡¯s seeing it good and he squares it up, those are the kind of results you¡¯re going to get.¡±
Through his first 14 games of the season, Lee is already looking like one of the breakout stars of the 2025 campaign, as he¡¯s batting .352 with three homers, an MLB-high eight doubles, one triple, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases out of the three-hole for the Giants. His 1.130 OPS currently ranks third in the Majors behind Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso, quickly dispelling any questions about his ability to adjust to Major League pitching after making the jump from the KBO last season.
¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s afraid of the spotlight,¡± said right-hander Logan Webb, who earned the win after allowing three runs on five hits and four walks over five innings. ¡°I¡¯m excited to see him keep growing and keep getting better. I think there¡¯s even more in there.¡±
The Giants saw only a glimpse of Lee¡¯s potential in 2024, as he hit .262 with a .641 OPS and two homers over 37 games before suffering a season-ending left shoulder injury last May. He hasn¡¯t missed a beat after returning to action this year, though, quickly emerging as the impact bat San Francisco envisioned when it signed him to a six-year, $113 million deal in December 2023.
¡°Everything I¡¯m doing right now is all about just giving back to the Giants,¡± Lee said via interpreter Justin Han. ¡°Throughout my rehab, the team helped out so much and supported me in many ways. They took me to the road games. During rehab during the offseason, the team was great, so it¡¯s all about giving it back to the team.¡±
Lee won a left-on-left matchup with Rod¨®n in the fourth, when he crushed a 3-2 slider out to right-center field to cut the Yankees¡¯ lead to 3-1. Lee¡¯s second blast of the series traveled a Statcast-projected 406 feet and would have gone out in 29 out of 30 MLB ballparks. (The only exception? Oracle Park.)
¡°Rod¨®n¡¯s got good stuff, so my approach going into the game today was not trying to pull every pitch, but just maybe send it over to center field,¡± Lee said. ¡°The results were great.¡±
Lee¡¯s first homer stood as the Giants¡¯ lone hit against Rod¨®n until Christian Koss reached on a leadoff single that bounced past shortstop Anthony Volpe in the sixth. It was the first career MLB hit for Koss, who made only his third start at second base on Sunday.
¡°It¡¯s surreal,¡± Koss said. ¡°You kind of dream about it. Probably not that way, but a hit is a hit.¡±
After Willy Adames walked to put a pair of runners on with one out, Lee again beat Rod¨®n by sending a 1-2 curveball at the top of the zone over the short porch in right-center field for a three-run shot that gave the Giants their first lead of the game. Lee¡¯s 363-foot drive would have been a home run in only eight of 30 MLB ballparks, but it still made him the first left-handed hitter to bash two home runs off Rod¨®n in the same game.
¡°He¡¯s been swinging it well,¡± Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra said of Lee. ¡°He hadn¡¯t seen the curveball all game. We really went after him with the sinker and the fastball. We had him with two strikes. We wanted to get him chasing and punch him out.¡±
San Francisco added an insurance run after Casey Schmitt doubled and scored on an error by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the seventh, which helped the club survive Jazz Chisholm Jr.¡¯s solo shot off Tyler Rogers in the eighth. Closer Ryan Walker took over in the ninth and retired Austin Wells, Ben Rice and Judge in order to lock down the win for the Giants.
¡°To be able to come back and win a game like that and then hold on at the end, which can be difficult to do, it¡¯s pretty rewarding,¡± Melvin said. ¡°It says a lot about our team to this point.¡±