Xander Bogaerts’ line-drive single in the bottom of the third inning led to the first run of the 2024 Major League Baseball season. However, it was not enough to give them the victory as the Los Angeles Dodgers scored four runs in the eighth to complete a 5-2 comeback.
But that hit placed the Aruban baseball player in rarified air. He became one of only three MLB players to have a hit in five countries, the other two being Paul Goldschmidt and Edgardo Alfonzo. Aside from that hit at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, the shortstop has done the same in England and Mexico. Of course, Bogaerts hit balls while playing in Canada and the United States.
Xander Bogaerts joins an exclusive list of only three players with at least one hit in 5 different countries pic.twitter.com/dFInzbGUdo
— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2024
Bogaerts had two of the four hits the San Diego Padres had during the first game of their Seoul Series against the Dodgers. The four-time MLB All-Star earned an RBI when Tyler Wade safely crossed home plate for a 1-0 Padres lead.
Aside from the two-time World Series champion, Wade and Jurickson Profar were the only players who connected on the Dodgers’ pitches. Despite the scarcity of hits, San Diego still had the lead until the end of the seventh inning.
Bogaerts and the Padres will try to bounce back from their loss when they face the Dodgers again on March 21 at 6:05 a.m. ET.
-Lance Fernandez