5/1 Roundup and News

There's already some worries over the next week in the KBO. Today(Friday) is an off day in the KBO because teams are playing on Monday. Monday is Children's Day here in Korea, so to cater to the few young fans the KBO actually has, they've added a slate of day games. KBO teams will play 9 games in 9 days and they're actually worried about this. Maybe this will lead to managers not using ten pitchers in a game.

Lee Dae-ho embracing local tradition.


Doosan 5, KIA 1

The running theme this week seems to be bullpens. The teams whose bullpens perform well appear to win. Teams with bullpens that meltdown seem to lose. I know, earthshattering. Doosan held a 2-1 lead after KIA starter, Lee Dae-jin(4.30 ERA, 0-2, 1.84 WHIP) was pulled. The KIA bullpen coughed up 3 more runs and put the game essentially out of reach. KIA looks awful right now.

Doosan starter, Lee Hye-jeon(5.79 ERA, 1-1, 1.50 WHIP) threw 6 innings(78 pitches, 44 strikes) allowing one run on 4 hits and a walk. He added one strike out. Doosan leadoff man, Lee Jong-wook(.311/.388/.368) went 4-5 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored.

Woori 2, Samsung 0

Samsung also looks awful right now. The paralells between this team and my beloved White Sox are eerie. A lineup of free swingers, all trying to hit three-run homers with no one on base? Check. Craptacular bullpen? Check. Shutdown closer? Check. Mediocre starting pitching? Check. No bench? Check. It's just fate that I root for teams that, at times, turn my stomach.

Samsung was really good at getting guys on 2nd base with two outs. Leadoff man, Park Han-yi(.352/.455/.462) went 2-3 with a double and a walk, but Samsung's 2-3-4 hitters were a combined 0-9 with two walks.

Woori's Ma Il-yeong(3.65 ERA, 2-3, 1.30 WHIP threw 6 innings(87 pitches, 53 strikes) while allowing 3 hits and 3 walks. He also plunked a guy and threw 4 K's. Yoo Jae-shin(.281/.281/.281, not a misprint) went 2-4 with 1 RBI and a stolen base.

Lotte 8, LG 5

This game was actually tied at 3 in the 7th inning. Then LG starter, Bong Jung-gun(3.26 ERA, 2-4, 1.30 WHIP) ran out of gas and the LG bullpen crapped the bed. LG trailed 8-3 in the 9th inning, but they mounted a fake rally to make the line score appear closer than the game actually was.

Lotte ace Son Min-han(2.59 ERA, 4-0, 1.30 WHIP) tossed 7 innings(99 pitches, 65 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 9 hits(season high) and one walk, while striking out 4.

Lotte 3rd baseman, Lee Dae-ho(.363/.453/.560, 4 HR, 29 RBI , 19 runs) went 3-5 with 3 more RBI. Lee never seems to have just one RBI. It's always 0 or multi. When he hits, he doesn't screw around. Cho Sung-hwan(.337/.387/.434) also drove in 3 runs. Cho went 1-3 with a double and two runs scored as well.

SK 6, Hanhwa 4

SK was leading 4-2 heading into the 9th inning. SK reliever, Jeong Dae-hyeon, stayed on for the 9th after finishing the 8th. Jeong appeared to run out of gas and allowed Hanhwa to tie the game at 4. In the 10th, Hanhwa turned to embattled foreign pitcher, Brad Thomas(4.60 ERA, 3 saves, 1.53 WHIP). Thomas pitched well in the 10th, but stayed on for the 11th. He allowed a walk, then a hit, then surrendered a two-run double to Park Jae-sang to give SK the lead. SK reliever, Lee Han-jin, tossed a 1-2-3 to earn SK yet another victory.

The game ball goes to Park Jae-sang(.307/.415/.432). He drove in the winning runs while going 3-6 with two RBI, one run scored and two stolen bases.

Hanhwa's Doug Clark(.321/.412/.652, 9 homers, 33 runs scored) and Lee Beom-ho(.280/.395/.490) both homered in the game.