LG vs. Hanhwa
5/22 - LG 10, Hanhwa 4
5/23 - Hanhwa 6, LG 5
5/24 - LG 1, Hanhwa 1
10-4 makes Friday's result sound close. LG was winning 10-0 in the 7th. LG slugger Roberto Petagine clubbed another homerun and had another solid game. Big Bobby finished 2-4 with 1 walk, 1 run scored and 3 RBIs. This LG offense has gone from toothless to awfully solid in just a few months. Petagine and Lee Jin-yeong have given this team just enough punch to be a legitmate threat for a playoff spot. The Twins currently sit 4th in the standings and look like they could stay there. LG starting pitcher Shim Su-chang was given an early lead and coasted for 8 innings(98 pitches, 58 strikes). Shim allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batsman. He only recorded 2 K's. I have nothing to say about Hanhwa that is either positive or true...moving on...
Hanhwa didn't look much better on Saturday night. Hanhwa ace Ryu Hyeon-jin was wild and ineffective during his 6 innings(102 pitches, 65 strikes) of work. He allowed 5 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks while striking out 4. He didn't figure in the decision. Between Ryu's shaky start and a mediocre offense, things looked grim for the 6th place Eagles. With LG holding a 5-4 advantage in the 8th inning Hanhwa tied the game on a sac fly from left fielder Yeon Kyeong-heum. Then, in the 9th inning Hanhwa took the lead. Kim Tae-gyun lead off the inning with a base hit through the left side. Kim was immeadiately lifted for a pinch runner. With 2 outs and the runner still stranded on 1st, 3rd baseman Lee Beom-ho ripped a double down the line to score the run and give Hanhwa a 6-5 lead. Brad Thomas tossed a scoreless 9th to earn the save.
LG ace Bong Jung-geun had his best start of the season, but didn't figure in the decision. Bong tossed 9 innings of 1-run baseball. He allowed only 3 hits while striking out 5. His only mistake was serving up a solo homer to Kim Tae-wan in the 4th inning. LG scored its only run on a RBI groundout from Roberto Petagine in the 6th inning. I can't believe that both teams were able to keep the other off the board. Hanhwa reliever Yang Hoon threw 3 scoreless innings. Mr. Yang has a reputation for "Charlie Brown innings."
SK vs. Doosan
5/22 - Doosan 4, SK 2 (12)
5/23 - Doosan 2, SK 1
5/24 - Doosan 5, SK 2
With this sweep, Doosan actually climbed into sole posession of 1st place in the KBO standings and dropped the Wyverns into 2nd place. We might actually have a legit pennant race this season.
With Friday's game tied at one in the top of the 12th inning, the Doosan offense hung a 3-spot on the SK bullpen. With 1 out and a runner on 3rd, Doosan's Oh Jae-won hit a flyball to deep center for a sac fly. The runner scored easily. Then, with 2 outs, Lim Jae-cheol singled to center. The next batter, center fielder Jeong Su-bin, hit a line drive to left that cleared the fence by about 3 feet for a 2-run homer. The insurance runs proved to be important. In the bottom of the 12th, the Wyverns mounted a fake rally. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs, Park Jeong-kwon hit a sac fly to left to score the run and make the score 4-2. That was as close as the Wyverns would get. Choi Jeong and Park Kyeong-wan both struck out to end the game. Kim Kwang-hyeon is the forgotten man in this game. The SK ace turned in an excellent effort, but he couldn't get any support. Kim worked 8 innings(134 pitches, 89 strikes) of 1-run baseball. He allowed 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9.
Both teams struggled to score runs on Saturday as well. Both teams got solid efforts from their pitchers. SK starter Jeong Byeong-du tossed 6 2/3 innings(129 pitches, 81 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Both runs came on solo homers. Doosan 3rd baseman Kim Dong-ju connected in the 4th inning and Jeong Su-bin homered in the 6th. Jeong Byeong-du allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out a season high 13 batters. For Doosan Jeong Jae-hoon turned a fine, albeit abbreviated effort. Jeong tossed 5 innings(88 pitches, 56 strikes) for the Bears. He allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.
SK's power outage continued on Sunday, but this time they had more of an issue with the Doosan bullpen than the starter. Doosan starting pitcher Hong Sang-sam needed 91 pitches(49 strikes) to throw 4 1/3 innings. He didn't allow any runs, but he did allow 4 hits and 6 walks during his outing. Relievers Lim Tae-hoon and Kim Myeong-jae each allowed a solo homer, but neither allowed SK to launch a serious threat against the Doosan lead. Doosan 1st baseman Choi Joon-sik enjoyed a solid afternoon. Choi finished 3-5 with a solo homer, 1 RBI and 1 runs scored.
Samsung vs. Lotte
5/22 - Samsung 4, Lotte 3
5/23 - Samsung 8, Lotte 5
5/24 - Lotte 7, Samsung 4
Friday's late innings were a wild ride. With Samsung leading 2-0 in the 8th inning, Lee Dae-ho connected for a 2-run homer to tie the game at 2. Then, in the 9th inning, Samsung called on closer Oh Seung-hwan to keep Lotte off the board. He failed. Oh allowed Lotte to take a 3-2 lead on a Park Jeong-joon solo homer. Samsung would not go quietly into the night. Lotte closer Jon Adkins was asked to get the final 3 outs. Samsung 1st baseman Chae Tae-in drew a dreaded leadoff walk. The next batter, Kang Bong-gyu hit a grounder to 3rd. The only play was the force out at 1st, so Chae was able to advance to 2nd. Samsung catcher Jin Kab-yong hit a shallow flyball to left for the 2nd out. Shin Myeong-cheol stepped to the plate and put Jon Adkins 2-1 offering over the left field fence for a 2-run walk-off homer. Shin met his teammates at the plate and recieved the requisite beating.
On Saturday night, Samsung was actually behind 3-2 in the 6th inning, but a 6-run rally gave the Lions all the runs they would need. All 6 runs came with 2 outs. Jerry Royster must've had a heart attack. With the bases loaded, right fielder Choi Hyeong-woo drew a walk to tie the game at 3. Yang Joon-hyeok drew another bases loaded walk to give Samsung a 4-3 lead. Kang Bong-gyu drilled a single to right to make the score 5-3. Jin Kab-yong kept the line moving with another RBI single to make it 6-3. Kim Chang-hee doubled off the wall to drive in a pair and give Samsung an 8-3 lead. Oh Seung-hwan tossed a scoreless 9th to earn the save. No late inning heroics this time.
Determined to get at least one of these games, Lotte absolutely battered poor Samsung starter Ahn Ji-man. Mr. Crooked Cap was knocked around for 5 runs during his 4 1/3 innings of work. He allowed 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. I really want to like Ahn, but his constantly getting pummelled isn't helping things. Staked to an early lead, Lotte starter Cho Jeong-hoon was able to cruise for 7 1/3 innings(98 pitches, 61 strikes). Cho allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. Jon Adkins bounced back from Friday's walk-off to earn the save with a scoreless 9th inning. Lions infielder Shin Myeong-cheol deserves his own column. The career .238 hitter has a .945 OPS in 114 AB's so far. He's leading the Lions in homers(6), RBI's(24) and is 2nd in runs scored (19). All of this while batting leadoff and in his age 31 season. I'm not saying he's breaking any rules, but the Brady Anderson comparisons are there. He homered again on Sunday.
KIA vs. Seoul Heroes
5/22 - Heroes 8, KIA 3
5/23 - Heroes 13, KIA 4
5/24 - KIA 8, Heroes 1
The Heroes got on top of KIA in the third inning thanks to a 3-run bomb from foreign slugger Cliff Brumbaugh. A 4th inning RBI single from shortstop Kang Jeong-ho gave the Heroes a 4-0 advantage. Heroes catcher Kim Dong-su also chipped in 2 RBIs. Kim finished the game 2-3 with a double and a HBP. Heroes starter Lee Hyeon-seung was able to cruise for most of his 6 innings(108 pitches, 67 strikes). Lee allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.
It was more of the same on Saturday. KIA actually held a lead thanks to a 3-run bomb from Choi Hee-seop in the 1st inning. In the top of the 2nd inning, the Heroes struck for a 6-spot. The rally was capped with a 2-run bomb from Brumbaugh. Cliff added another 2-run homer in the 7th. I'd just like to suggest that Cliff knock off the preening and posing after he hits a big fly. His "slow walk while holding the bat" routine is wearing thin with this blogger. While his teammates were hitting baseballs out of the park, Heroes starting pitcher Jeong Won-sam settled down after the 1st inning homer and kept KIA off the board for the rest of his outing. Jeong worked 6 innings(83 pitches, 55 strikes) while allowing 3 runs on 3 hits. Jeong also struck out 5 while walking none.
Rick Guttormson gave KIA exactly what they needed on Sunday. A starting pitcher that kept the baseball in the park and a quality start. I'm actually really enjoying the games when Rick starts. He works quick, he effecient and the game usually ends in under 3 hours. I'm not getting his face tattooed on my chest, but I am becoming a fan. Guttormson tossed 7 innings(100 pitches, 58 strikes) of 1-run baseball. He allowed only 5 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batsman while striking out 6. His only mistake was a 5th inning solo homer to Heroes shortstop Kang Jeong-ho. At the plate for KIA, Na Ji-won and Kim Jong-kuk hit back-to-back solo homers during a 3-run 3rd inning rally. Heroes "ace" Ma Il-yeong needed 90 pitches to record 11 outs. Ma was yanked during the 4th inning. He allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1 batter.
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