Tuesday, June 16, 2009

6/12 - 6/14 Weekend Roundup: KIA vs. Hanhwa

6/12 - KIA 16, Hanhwa 6
6/13 - Hanhwa 8, KIA 3
6/14 - KIA 5, Hanhwa 2

KIA jumped all over Hanhwa starter Yoo Won-sang in the early innings on Friday. Yoo was battered for 10 runs(all earned) on 9 hits and 4 walks during his 2 1/3 innings of work. KIA right fielder Na Ji-wan inflicted a lot of damage on the Hanhwa pitching staff. Na went 2-5 with 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 2 runs scored. KIA 3rd baseman Kim Sang-hyeon drove in 4 runs while going 2-5 with a double. KIA reliever Park Kyeong-tae threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief work. Park allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Shortstop Song Kwang-min was one of the few bright spots for Hanhwa. Song finished 4-5(all singles) with 2 runs scored.

Hanhwa exacted some measure of revenge on Saturday thanks to a quality start from Ahn Yeong-myeong. Ahn tossed 6 2/3 innings(99 pitches, 55 strikes) of 3-run baseball. He surrendered 5 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4. KIA's Rick Guttormson had his worst start of the season. Guttormson lasted 6 innings(98 pitches, 61 strikes), but he allowed 6 runs(4 earned) on 7 hits, 3 walks and 1 hit batsman. Rick did manage to strike out 6 batters during his outing. Hanhwa held a 4-3 lead in the 7th inning and blew the game wide open with a 4-run rally. Guttormson was pulled in the 7th with runners on 1st and 3rd with 0 outs. Hanhwa 3rd baseman Lee Beom-ho singled off of reliever Song Yeong-min to score the first run of the inning. With the bases loaded, Song walked left fielder Choi Jin-haeng to score another run. The next batter, center fielder Choo Seung-woo, would hit a sac fly to score another run and make the score 7-3. 2nd baseman Oh Seon-jin hit a grounder to KIA 2nd baseman Ahn Chi-hong that should have ended the inning, but Ahn almost threw the ball into left field. Everyone was safe and Song Kwang-min was able to race across the plate to make the score 8-3.

KIA starter Yang Hyeon-jong enjoyed one of his finest starts of the season and Han Ki-joo recorded his first save in 2 months while the Tigers rolled to an easy W. The 21 year old Yang is in his first season as a starting pitcher in the KBO and he is making the most of it. Yang threw 6 1/3 innings(117 pitches, 75 strikes) and allowed 2 runs with 7 hits. He racked up 11 K's during his start and only walked 2. Han threw 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 3rd save of the season. This KIA pitching staff appears to have a lot of depth at the moment. KIA right fielder Na Ji-wan must like hitting against Hanhwa pitching(who doesn't?). Na hit 2 more homers on Sunday, giving him 4 for the weekend. Na finished the game 3-4 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

1 comment:

Dave MacCannell said...

Yup I'd say the Kia starting rotation is the best. Right now they have 1st, 3rd and 4th place in ERA. With Yang, Guttormson and Lopez. Then they have Seo Jae Eung and Yoon Suk Min. Pretty darn solid. If only the coach would start leaving them in longer! Kia should have the laziest bull pen in the league and coach Jo keeps them among the busiest. But yesterday he kept Lopez in for the complete game win. Maybe he's starting to learn. If so, watch out for the Tigers. The coach is the only thing holding them back.