Friday, May 29, 2009

5/28 Roundup and News

Lee Ji-ho at the Joongang Daily asks, "Will we ever see a .400 hitter in Korea?" His answer, "Yes." I would have to agree with him. I think could even happen this season. Kim Hyeon-su will flirt with .400 for a few seasons before his career ends.

We did get a blog update from Mr. Nitkowski again and he actually admits fault in this one...in a way. He's been demoted again. It sounds like this is the last time. He'll either stop walking guys and throw strikes or he'll go home.

Seoul Heroes 4, Doosan 0
W - Jeong Won-sam (2-3), L - Jeong Jae-hoon (4-2), S - Shin Cheol-in (1)

I think we can declare Jeong Won-sam's WBC hangover officially over. The young lefty tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings(107 pitches, 71 strikes) against a really tough Doosan lineup. He allowed only 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. I'd like to see that strikeout total a bit higher, but I think he's going to have a big June for the Heroes. A Doosan starter actually made it out of the 6th inning, but Jeong Jae-hoon was the tough luck loser. Jeong threw 8 1/3 innings(102 pitches, 70 strikes) of 3-run baseball. He allowed 6 hits and 1 hit batsman while striking out 9. The Heroes continued to tear up the base paths against Doosan. They stole 4 more last night. I think we might've either found a strength for the Heroes or a weakness for Doosan. I'm not sure which yet.

SK 7, KIA 1
W - Kim Kwang-hyeon (7-0), L - Kwak Jeong-cheol (3-1)

Kim Kwang-hyeon was what you'd call "effectively wild." The SK ace tossed 7 2/3 innings of 1-run baseball. He allowed 4 hits and 6(!) walks while striking out 5. A solo homer by KIA center fielder Choi Yong-gyu was Kim's only mistake on the evening...Well, other than all those walks. I will say this about Kim, he looks like he has his groove back. After big strikeouts he'll strut around the mound a little. He's pitching with more confidence now than he ever had in March or April. At the plate for SK, right fielder Park Jae-sang enjoyed a solid night at the plate. He finished 2-4 with a double, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. His 4th inning double put SK on the scoreboard and tied the game at 1. He also hit a 2 RBI single in the 7th inning that put the game completely out of reach.

Samsung 11, Hanhwa 1
W - Francisco Cruceta (3-2), L - Kim Hyeok-min (5-3), S - Ji Seung-min (1)

Where did this come from? Solid hitting and pitching? On the same night? From this miserable Samsung squad? It's not a sign of the apocalypse, but I am planning a trip to CostCo next week. Samsung banged out 5 homers. All 5 came in the first 4 innings. 3rd baseman Park Seok-min hit a 2-run bomb in the 2nd. Infielder Shin Myeong-cheol hit a 2-run homer and right fielder Choi Heong-woo hit a solo homer in the 3rd. Things really got ridiculous in the 4th inning. Kang Bong-gyu hit a grand slam. Yang Jun-hyeok followed Kang with a solo shot homer to make the score 10-0. Samsung starter Francisco Cruceta was able to cruise for 6 innings(93 pitches, 53 strikes). The only run Cruceta allowed came on a solo homer by Hanhwa's Victor Diaz. Cruceta allowed 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5. Samsung reliever Ji Seung-min threw 3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the save.

LG 13, Lotte 3
W - Shim Su-chang (5-3), L - Kim Il-yeop (0-3)

LG also exploded for 5 homers last night. The 4th and 6th innings were a nightmare for Lotte. LG put up 5 runs in both. LG 1st baseman Roberto Petagine led the charge for the Twins. He finished 4-4 with a double, a homer, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Lee Jin-yeong started at DH for the Twins and did a fine job. Lee finished 3-3 with a homer, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. LG starting pitcher Shim Su-chang was also solid on the mound. Shim tossed 7 innings(105 pitches, 62 strikes) of 3-run baseball. He allowed 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. He was good enough to win, as long as he had a 10-run lead to work with.

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