San francisco: For the first time in nearly a month, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has been hitless in a game. Lee's career-best hitting streak came to an end at 18 games in the Giants' 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Friday (local time). Batting fifth in the lineup, Lee went 0-for-3.

According to Yonhap News Agency, during his 18-game run, which began on May 14, Lee batted .500 (36-for-72) and struck out only three times. He raised his batting average from .265 to .338. After the hitless day, Lee is now batting .333, the second-highest mark in Major League Baseball (MLB) behind only Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins.

Against the Cubs, Lee grounded out in the bottom of the second inning and again in the bottom fourth, both against starter Javier Assad. Then facing reliever Hoby Milner in the bottom seventh, Lee lined out to right field.

The Giants scored their only run in the bottom ninth, courtesy of Bryce Eldridge's solo home run. But cleanup Rafael Devers struck out with Lee on deck, robbing the South Korean hitter one final opportunity to extend his streak. Lee's streak was the longest active hitting streak in MLB and also the longest ever by a South Korean player in the majors.