Former Doosan ace and KBO MVP, Danny Rios, has been suspended by the NPB for PEDs. I really can't say I'm surprised. I like the quote at the bottom from the Doosan Bears' trainer. "We can't follow him 24/7." He could've looked like this and no one would have cared as long as he was winning games.
Not baseball related, but this headline kills me. We can expect a lot more of these in the next few months.
LG vs. Woori
6/27 - Woori 5, LG 0
6/28 - Woori 6, LG 3
6/29 - Woori 4, LG 1
Perhaps this LG team is not quite the juggernaut it appeared to be against the Samsung Lions last week. Getting swept by Woori might be enough to change my perception.
Friday night was all about Woori starting pitcher, Jeong Won-sam. Jeong tossed a complete game 6-hitter(only 105 pitches, 69 strikes) with 1 walk and 7 K's. He kept the MIGHTY LG OFFENSE off balance all night. Woori pieced together enough of an offense with timely hitting and a helpful LG pitching staff(7 walks!). Woori outfielder, Song Ji-man had a very good night at the plate. He finished 2-5 with a homer, 2 RBI and a run scored.
On Saturday, it was Ma Il-yeong's turned to baffle the INCREDIBLE LG OFFENSE. Ma tossed 6 strong innings(101 pitches, 64 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk with 3 K's. Woori jumped all over LG starter, Jeong Chan-heon in the 4th inning. Woori's Song Ji-man clubbed his second homer in as many days while going 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
Sunday was more of the same for LG. Except Woori decided to add insult to injury by calling in the... SECRET WEAPON!!! Shingo came on in the 8th to record his first KBO save. He worked 1 and 2/3 innings allowing one walk, striking out 4 and flashing his trademark goofy grin. I missed having Shingo in my life and I'm happy I have him back. It's been too long buddy....Moving on.... It was Woori starting pitcher, Lee Hyeon-seung's turn to handcuff LG and he did just that for 5 innings(92 pitches, 54 strikes) of work. He allowed 9 baserunners, but LG must've used up all their RBI's on the Lions. The Twins scored their 1 and only run of the game against Lee. Woori OFer, Song Ji-man, continued his weekend tear. Song finished 2-4 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI. You can't hope to stop Song Ji-man, you can only TRY to contain him.
Hanhwa vs. SK
6/27 - SK 9, Hanhwa 7
6/28 - Hanhwa 2, SK 0
6/29 - SK 2, Hanhwa 1 (15)
Friday nights game was a fairly ugly 9-7 affair. The pitching was mediocre and the fielding was mediocre. Kenny Rayborn's best friend, Kenny Ray, got lit up by the Eagles. I really want a foreign guy to show up and dominate. I'm tired of writing about foreigner pitchers getting clobbered. It would be easier to tell you who didn't have a multi-hit game in this recap, but dammit. I have to hand out a game ball to just one of these guys. I guess it goes to SK 1st baseman, Park Jeong-kwon. He finished 2-3 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored. He drove in SK's first and two last runs with RBI singles in the 1st and 6th.
I think Ryu Hyeon-jin has made 20 starts against SK this year. Every time I see his name in a boxscore or mentioned on TV he's pitching against SK. This time he made them pay. Ryu tossed a complete game shutout(ONLY 109 pitches, 73 strikes) allowing only 4 hits(NO WALKS) and striking out 8. The heater and the change were deadly. SK starter, Song Eun-beom, did his best to keep the Wyverns in the game. He threw 6 innings(121 pitches, 73 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk with 6 K's. The run he allowed in the 5th on an RBI single from Eagles SS Kim Min-jae would prove to be all that Hanhwa would need on Saturday.
Songs will be written about Sunday's game. It was a 15 inning, 2-1 epic that deserves to be remembered. Not fondly, just not forgotten. In the bottom of the 15th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, SK's Kim Jae-hyeon stepped to the plate. He ripped a line drive over the head of Eagles 1B, Kim Tae-gyun, and walked off Hanhwa. He was promptly chased and beaten by his teammates.
KIA vs. Lotte
6/27 - KIA 6, Lotte 2
6/28 - PPD
6/29 - Lotte 5, KIA 4
KIA jumped on Marty McCleary often and were able to keep the potent Lotte offense from getting the big hit. Kia's Na Ji-won came in off the bench in the 1st inning after Kim Won-seop went down with an injury. Na took full advantage. He finished the night 3-4 with a double, 2 RBI and a run scored. KIA 2nd baseman, Kim Jong-guk also had a nice game on Friday night. Kim finished 2-3 with a walk, a triple, an RBI and 2 runs scored. KIA starter, Im Joon-hyeok, threw 5 shutout innings to earn the W.
Saturday's game was the only game rained out all weekend. Good thing the Lions were out of town. It was absolutely pissing in Daegu.
On Sunday, Felix Diaz did his best not to get lit up by the Giants O. He did a decent job. Diaz lasted 6 innings(90 pitches, 54 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 4 K's. Karim Garcia had his number. Garcia finished 2-4 with a solo homer, but both hits came off Diaz. KIA held a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 9th, but reliever, Lee Beom-seok ran out of gas. Lee was starting his 3rd inning and got in trouble. Son Kwang-min drove in the tying run with your old fashioned Baltimore chop. Then, Park Ki-hyeok clubbed a double off the wall in center, but Son was out by fifteen feet at home. Park advanced to third on the throw. With a runner on 3rd and one out, Jeong Su-geun hit a sharp grounder to first. The runner came home. The throw came home. The throw beat the runner, but catcher, Cha Il-mok, couldn't find the handle. Ball game.
Samsung vs. Doosan
6/27 - Doosan 10, Samsung 1
6/28 - Samsung 7, Doosan 0
6/29 - Samsung 2, Doosan 1
There's inconsistent and then there's WILDLY inconsistent. A team that looked dead in the water while giving up a 20-spot to LG actually looked competent against one of the better teams in the league. I thought my soul had been hardened after years as a militant White Sox fan. No longer could I be scarred by even the most depressing defeat(this game took that out of me). I lived through the Terry Bevington years, dammit! But here I am, getting worked up over these guys. I'd rather have a team just suck than be mediocre. Suckage can be entertaining, mediocrity is just sad.
I think Tom Shearn has had enough of Korea and wants to get released. I really can't think of another reason for a pitcher to be pummeled as consistently as he has. Between wildness and , uh, leaving the ball over the plate-ness, Shearn was clobbered for 8 runs in 5+ innings of work. His WHIP for the season is just over 2(2.03 to be precise). Doosan starter, Kim Sun-woo was very good on Friday night. Kim lasted 7 innings(86 pitches, 57 strikes) while allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 K's. Doosan catcher, Jae Sang-byeong, helped pace the offense by going 2-3 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI and one run scored. The lone bright spot for the Lions was 1st baseman, Chae Tae-in. Chae finished the night with 4 of the 6 Lions hits.
Saturday night was all about Bae Yong-su and Justin Lehr. Bae had his finest start of the season on Saturday. He threw 6 innings(78 pitches, 47 strikes) of 3 hit, 1 walk ball with 4 K's. Justin Lehr is another disaster away from getting himself sent back to the States. Lehr came on in relief and provided little. He surrendered 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Samsung's backup catcher, Hyeon Jae-yoon, got the start behind the plate on Saturday and had himself a night. Hyeon went 4-5 with a double, 4 RBI and one run scored. He drove in runs in three different innings, but his biggest knock came in the 4th inning. He put Samsung on the scoreboard with a 2 RBI double.
On Sunday, Samsung and Doosan dueled to a 1-1 tie after 8 innings. Both starting pitchers,Lee Sang-mok for Samsung and Matt Randel for Doosan, were effective. However, Randel was the better of the two. Matt worked 7 strong innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5. Samsung's Choi Hyeong-woo took him deep in the 5th inning. In the top of the 9th, Samsung pinch hitter, Woo Dong-gyun, clubbed an RBI triple off of Doosan reliever, Im Tae-hoon. The RBI triple proved to be the difference in the game, as Oh Seung-hwan tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 20th save.
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