Round 1, Game 2

Lions 6, Eagles 0

Last night was essentially the exact opposite of game 1. The Lions bats came to life, homering twice and scoring a runner from second on a basehit for the first time in a week. 5 Lions pitchers combined to scatter 3 hits. The Eagles only had one runner reach 2nd base all night. I think it was more inept hitting than effective pitching, but what it really came down to was tat the Lions executed and the Eagles didn't.

The crowd was into the game before the first pitch was thrown. Hanwha fans came in from Daejon for what could have been the clinching game, but around 8:30 most had either left or were looking at their watches drying to decide if they should catch the 9:03 express train or wait for the 9:32. The Samsung fans came out in force as the cheering section was as loud and as large as I've ever seen it. The stadium was about 90% full. If I had to guess the size of the crowd, I'd say about 5500 people showed up.

The funniest moment of the night came when a group of young people advertising for a Korean baseball movie(The Scout, hitting theatres in Korea on 11/15) lost control of their banner in centerfield. These guys were about as uncoordinated as possible when it came to waving their massive banner. The also had different number claps. Every time their Fearless Leader would call for a different clap, that's exactly what happened. Everyone would clap differently. Su-Jin summed it up best, "I think these guys need practice."

Keys to the game: Samsung kept Hanwha's big bats in check for most of the game. Jacob Cruz and Kim Tae Gyun were a combined 1-6 with two walks. If these two aren't driving in runs, usually doesn't do much.

This game wasn't without questionable managing from Samsung. For example, removing an effective Chon Byung Ho after only three innings, replacing a pitcher in the middle of an at bat(while he was ahead in the count) and allowing ace closer Oh Seung Hwan to work the 9th of a blowout. Fans shouldn't complain after a 6-0 victory, but I was really scratching my head at some of the decisions made.

Game 3 is in Daejon on Friday. One team goes on, the other goes home. Hanwha! Samsung! Cruz! Yong! Tomorrow on MBC! KBO fever! Catch it.