4/14 Roundup and News

Seoul Heroes 2, Doosan 1
W - Lee Hyeon-seung(2-0) , L - Kim Sun-woo(2-1), S - Hwang Doo-seong (2)

Kim Sun-woo deserved better. The former Boston Red Sox hurler worked 8 solid innings(105 pitches, 73 strikes) of 2-run ball and was stuck with a loss. Heroes 3rd baseman Hwang Jae-gyun clubbed a solo homer in the first inning to put the Heroes on the board. In the 5th, Heroes catcher Kang Gui-tae lifted a line drive into left to score Kang Jeong-ho from 2nd. Doosan's only run didn't come until the 9th inning. Rightfielder Yim Jae-cheol hit a line drive down the right field line that landed just under Doug Clark's glove and rolled to the wall. The run scored easily and Yim had a standup triple. The next batter, Lee Jong-wook, struck out staring to end the game. The Heroes got 7 shutout innings(117 pitches, 67 strikes) from Lee Hyeon-seung. Lee allowed 7 hits and 2 walks. He managed to strike out 6.

LG 7, SK 3
W - Choi Dong-hwan(1-1) , L - Kim Won-hyeong (0-1)

LG was blanked for the first 4 innings by SK starter Chae Byeong-yong. LG broke through in the 5th inning against Chae and scored in every inning for the rest of the game. LG DH Choi Dong-su turned in a fine effort at the plate. Choi went 2-4 with a double, a homer, 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored. LG used 6 pitchers last night and only one, starter Lee Beom-joon, gave up any runs. The LG bullpen held a lead for 4 2/3 innings. Wonders never cease.

Hanwha 7, Samsung 5
W - Ahn Yeong-myeong(1-0) , L - Kim Sang-soo (0-1), S - Brad Thomas (2)

The story here wasn't who won or lost. It was all about Yang Joon-hyeok tying the KBO's career home run record of 340 home runs. Yang's next homer is the record breaker. The Lions looked like they would knock Hanwha starter Ahn Yeong-myeoung out of the game early, but the crafty veteran settled down and managed to work 5 mediocre innings. Cho Jin-ho is still awful as a starter. He doesn't miss any bats and he leaves his weak stuff up in the zone to get clobbered. He was mercifully pulled in the middle of the 5th. The Samsung bullpen...didn't do much better. With Victor Diaz and Kim Tae-gyun aboard with one out in the 7th, Hanwha 3rd baseman Lee Beom-ho crushed a Choi Won-che offering over the left field fence. I honestly couldn't tell on the replay, but it LOOKED like Lee's homer actually left the building. I don't remember ever seeing that before. Lee's homer made the score 7-3. It was an absolute bomb. Samsung mounted a fake rally in the 9th thanks to a 2-run homer from Cho Dong-chan. All that did was make the game a save opportunity for Brad Thomas.

KIA 4, Lotte 0
W - Rick Guttormson (1-1), L - Lee Yong-hoon (1-1)

The story of this one was Rick Guttormson. He wasn't overpowering, but he was smart. He didn't miss a ton of bats, but he didn't get hit hard. Rick worked 8 2/3 shutout innings(104 pitches, 66 strikes). He allowed only 7 hits and struck out 6 Giants. The most pitches he threw in an inning was 18 in the 3rd. He only had two other innings where his pitch total reached double digits. He threw strikes and let the Giants get themselves out. KIA's rookie 3rd baseman Ahn Chi-hong went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and a homer. His 8th inning solo homer was his first of the season.