Lee Jung-hoo returns with four hits in Giants loss to Rockies

The Giants got the version of Lee Jung-hoo they had been missing, and it showed immediately in how much harder San Francisco’s lineup looked to pitch around. Back in right field after an 11-day absence with a mid-back strain, Lee went 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI against the Rockies at Coors Field, a return that gave the Giants the kind of middle-order stability they have been searching for during an injury-thinned stretch.

Lee’s comeback came after the club activated him from the 10-day injured list with the stint dated retroactively to May 19. He had resumed full baseball activity on May 26 and was eligible to return May 29. By then, the Giants were also getting Logan Webb back, while Heliot Ramos remained sidelined with a right quad strain and Victor Bericoto had recently been called up to help cover the outfield. For a team trying to steady itself, Lee’s return was not just about one bat coming off the injured list. It changed how opposing pitchers had to attack the Giants.

That was clear in the box score, even in defeat. Lee matched his career high with four hits in a game, according to Major League Baseball, and his season batting average climbed to .283 after the Rockies game. MLB’s player page lists the 27-year-old as a 6-foot-0, 196-pound right fielder who debuted on March 28, 2024. Statcast had shown an estimated batting average of .288 before the game, a sign his quality of contact had been better than the .268 mark he carried into the night.

Lee also made his presence felt in the field. He turned in two highlight-reel catches in right field, and MLB.com credited him with helping save at least three runs defensively. That mattered because the Giants were one inning away from a cleaner reset before Colorado erupted for seven runs over the final two innings, including five in the ninth, to win 8-6. Giants manager Tony Vitello called the late collapse a “bitter pill,” though he praised both Logan Webb and Lee for putting the club in position to win.

For San Francisco fans, Lee’s return carried added weight because it echoed the kind of offensive burst he produced on April 26, when he went 4-for-5 with two runs scored against the Marlins at Oracle Park. That game made him the first Giants player with nine hits over a three-game span since Buster Posey in April 2021. The Giants did not get the victory in Denver, but they did get a reminder of how much their lineup changes when Lee Jung-hoo is healthy enough to hit, run and cover right field every night.