4/16 Roundup and News

Seoul Heroes 1, Doosan 0
W - Ma Il-yeong (2-1), L - Kim Sang-hyeon (0-1), S - Hwang Doo-seong (3)

Kim Sang-hyeon was good, but Ma Il-yeong was better. The Heroes ace threw 8 shutout innings(119 pitches, 77 strikes) before giving way to Hwang in the 9th inning. Ma allowed 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6 Bears during his impressive outing. In the 7th inning, Kim surrendered a lead off walk to Heroes 1st baseman Oh Jae-il. The next batter, Song Ji-man, singled to center. Song's single put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Kang Jeong-ho attempted to get the runners over with a bunt, but Oh was forced out at third. Then things got weird. Catcher Ho Joon hit a grounder to the 2nd baseman. The runner on first(Kang) only advanced half way while Ho was tagged out at first. Kang was trapped in a rundown, but no one paid any attention to Song, who raced from 2nd to home while Kang was trying to fake out the Doosan infield. The run score 1-0 Heroes. That's why Kim was charged with the loss. It only took Kim 98 pitches(75 strikes) to throw a complete game. He allowed 6 hits and 1 walk with 5 K's. Heroes closer Hwang Doo-seong threw a perfect 9th inning to record his 3rd save.

LG 6, SK 5 (10)
W - Jeong Chan-heon (2-0), L - Jeong Woo-ram (0-1)

LG lead this game 5-1 after a 4-run 6th inning rally. With 1 out and a runner on first, Choi Dong-su doubled to the gap in left center to score the first run of the inning. The next batter, 3rd baseman Jeong Seong-hoon, hit an infield single up the middle to put runners at the corners with 1 out. LG center fielder Lee Jin-yeong tripled to the gap in right center to score 2 more. Then, Kim Sang-hyeon hit an RBI single up the middle to score Lee. In the 8th inning, SK rallied to tie the game at 5. The rally started with a 2-run homerun off the bat of SK pinch hitter Park Jae-hong. Then, with a runner on 1st and 2 outs, SK DH Kim Jae-hyeon struck for another 2-run bomb to tie the game. The game was tied until the top of the 10th. With 2 outs and the bases empty, Jeong Seong-hoon struck again with a single. Lee Jin-yeong drilled a deep fly to left/center that fell for a base hit. Jeong was able to score from first while Lee was safe at 2nd with a standup double. Jeong Chan-heon threw a 1-2-3 10th to earn his 2nd relief win.

Samsung 8, Hanwha 2
W - Kwon Hyeok (1-1), L - Yang Hoon (0-1)

If I were Ryu Hyeon-jin, I would threaten to retire if Hanwha continues to use Yang Hoon in a game that isn't lopsided. Mr. Cy Yuck came in after Ryu had worked 7 innings(112 pitches, 68 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Ryu allowed 6 hits and 2 walks with 8 K's. Yang came in and the floodgates opened. Samsung started slapping doubles all over the place. Samsung DH Yang Joon-hyeok started the rally with a ground rule double. He hit a ball off the fence that bounced into the seats. There was some controversey over whether the hit was his 341st homerun or not, but it was pretty clear that the ball hit the padding on the fence before bouncing over the screen. Even without a replay. By the time the dust settled Samsung had rallied for 6 runs. 4 of the 6 belonged to Mr. Yang. Here's a question, when Yang stands in the dugout does he feel like a poser? Samsung 3rd baseman Park Seok-min finally broke out with a big game. Park finished the night 2-3 with a homer, 3 RBIs, 1 run scored and a walk. For some reason, Oh Seung-hwan pitched the 9th inning. He struck out the side, but I have to wonder why he was involved in a blowout. I guess they still think he has a shot at pitching past 30. The goal here has to be to burn him out before July.

KIA 3, Lotte 2
W - Kwak Jeong-cheol (1-0), L - Song Seung-joon (0-2), S - Han Ki-joo (2)

Is it just me or is the Lotte offense awful right now? If it weren't for Kang Min-ho's recent heroics, this team would only have 2 wins in its first 11. Not good. KIA starter Kwak Jeong-cheol was exactly what he needed to be. He was good enough. In Kwak's 6 innings(85 pitches, 52 strikes) of work he allowed only 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. He recorded 5 K's on the evening. The score was tied at 2 heading into the top of the 5th. KIA 3rd baseman Lee Hyeon-gon clubbed a solo homer to untie the game. Lee's homer proved to be the only cushion KIA would need. After Kwak's strong effort, Yoo Dong-hoon and Han Ki-joo allowed only 2 baserunners while recording the final 9 outs.