The Atlanta Braves had the unlikeliest of heroes in their win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ha-Seong Kim’s ninth-inning single walked off the Dodgers to secure a series win. Braves manager Walt Weiss spoke about that after the game.
“I’m so happy for Kim,” said Weiss on BravesVision’s postgame coverage. “The circumstances have been really difficult for him. This was a guy who was an elite player in this league, and he’s been trying to catch up all year.”
The Braves re-signed Kim on a one-year deal as a stopgap at shortstop. That came after a strong cameo to close out the 2025 season.
However, he tore the tendon in his middle finger slipping on ice in his home country, South Korea, in the offseason. He’s been trying to play catch-up ever since.
The shortstop position has been a revolving door for the past two seasons. The club has played Mauricio Dubon, Jim Jarvis, Jorge Mateo, and Kim there this season. Each player has gotten at least 24 starts at the position.
Other than Dubon, who sports a 96 wRC+ this season, the Braves haven’t gotten much offense at shortstop this season.
Braves Manager Walt Weiss on Ha-Seong Kim’s Walk-off Hit vs. DodgersGettyHa-Seong Kim was the hero in the Braves’ 6-5 win over the Dodgers. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
In his absence, utility infielder Mauricio Dubon has gotten the most at shortstop. Jorge Mateo, who’s now with the Tampa Bay Rays, also got the occasional start there.
They also tried out rookie Jim Jarvis, a slick defender, but his struggling bat got him demoted to Triple-A Gwinnett.
“It’s been tough to find him reps here since he came back with Dubie playing like he was,” said Weiss.
Ha-Seong Kim’s performance this season has been rough. He’s batting .066 (5-for-76) with a .230 OPS. But that didn’t stop Weiss from tabbing the veteran shortstop for the game’s biggest at-bat.
Pinch-hitting for Victor Mederos, the 30-year-old shortstop ripped a line drive single to left against Tanner Scott. Lane Thomas, who was running from second on the pitch with a full count and two outs, scored easily to cap off an “amazing win.”
“I’m happy for Kim. He never pouted; he’s been working his ass off. He gets a moment like that. It’s just poetic justice for that to happen.”
The win closes the gap for a Wild Card round bye. With back-to-back wins, the Braves are now within two games of the Dodgers. They’ll have a chance to close it to one game if they can complete the series sweep.
With four wins against Los Angeles, they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. That could be important at the end of the season.
It also helps keep some separation from the Philadelphia Phillies, who are 4.5 games back of Atlanta in the National League East.
When the Braves look back at the end of the season, these moments add up big. While Kim’s season won’t go the way they hoped, he gave them one jolt of energy when they needed him the most.
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