ST. LOUIS — As Cardinals left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim quested Wednesday for his first victory in 11 starts and in more than two months, he checked off a couple of firsts. His two-out drive over the head of Arizona left fielder Josh Rojas in the second inning was his first extra-base hit (he has only two hits overall in 16 at-bats) and accounted for his first two runs batted in as a major leaguer.
Kim, who connected off Riley Smith, drove in Yadier Molina and Edmundo Sosa, and provided the first two runs of the game. When he returned to the dugout after the inning, Kim was met by cheering teammates and one who bowed to the South Korean, Adam Wainwright.
Kim can take a bow now, too. He encountered traffic that included seven base runners in five innings. But he allowed just one to score as the Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 7-4 victory that was Kim’s second of the season and first since April 23, the day he also got his first big league hit, an infield single.
