6/25 Roundup and News

Kim Tae-gyun is almost ready to come back from his concussion, but I don't think it's going to matter much. Hanhwa is awful.

On to the roundup...

Seoul Heroes 2, LG 1
W - Jeong Won-sam (4-5), L - Jeong Jae-bok (2-4), S - Lee Bo-geun (1)

These two high-powered offenses were all about the pitching last night. Embattled Heroes starter Jeong Won-sam(4.46 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) tossed 6 1/3 innings(90 pitches, 58 strikes) of shutout baseball. He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batsman while striking out 4. Lee Bo-geun(3.86 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief in last night's 2-man show. Heroes slugger Cliff Brumbaugh(.269/.399/.595) connected for a 2-run homer in the 4th inning. His blast would be all the runs the Heroes would need and get. Twins starter Jeong Jae-bok(6.57 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) was the tough luck loser. Jeong threw 6 innings(111 pitches, 67 strikes) of 2-run ball. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out, you guessed it, 3.

Samsung 10, Hanhwa 5
W - Cha Woo-chan (4-4), L - Ahn Yeong-myeong (6-4)

My losing streak is snapped! I'm officially on the board with my first W of the season. My attendance record stands at an anemic 1-5. Hey, there's still a whole 2nd half to play.

Ahn Yeong-myeong(4.60 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) looked terrible from my seat in center field. I can only imagine how bad he looked from the batter's box. Ahn allowed 8 runs during his 4 innings of work. He gave up 9 hits, but only 5 stayed in the park. The Lions 2-5 hitters all homered. Choi Hyeong-woo(.277/.386/.462) Kang Bong-gyu(.318/.396/.473), Park Seok-min(.250./375/.544) and Yang Joon-hyeok(.320/.455/.570) all took him deep. Park's 3rd inning blast hit the bottom of the scoreboard in center field. It was an absolute bomb. In 4 years of watching the Lions, I've never seen anyone else come close. Cha Woo-chan(4.81 ERA 1.66 WHIP) pitched a little better than his line suggests. He kept Samsung in the game and if it weren't for that 3-run bomb in the 6th, he would've had a quality start. Hanhwa shortstop Song Kwang-min(.286/.313/.500) was one of the few bright spots for the Eagles. Song finished 2-4 with 2 homers, 4 RBI and 2 run scored.

KIA 6, SK 5 (12)
W - Kwak Jeong-cheol (5-1), L - Choi Jeong (0-1)

Not a misprint. SK 3rd baseman Choi Jeong took the loss. SK ran out of pitchers and Choi was brought in for the 12th inning.

In the top of the 9th, SK was trailing 5-3. SK was able to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. SK outfielder Kim Jae-hyeon(.240/.380/.398) laced a double to left to drive in one. The next batter, infielder Yoon Sang-gyun(.333/.375/.524 in 21 AB's), hit a flyball to deeeeep center. KIA center fielder Lee Ho-sin was able to track down the deep fly, but it was way to deep for him to make a throw to the plate and he was forced to turn his back while making the catch. Lee had no chance. The tying run scored easily. In the bottom of the 12th, Choi Jeong gave up a lead off triple to KIA 2nd baseman Ahn Chi-hong(.246/.293/.424). After walking the next batter, Choi uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ahn to score from 3rd. Ballgame. Lost in this game was a solid start from Rick Guttormson(2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP). Rick threw 6 2/3 innings(110 pitches, 62 strikes) of 2-run baseball. He allowed 4 hits and 4 walks with 0 K's. He left the game with a lead, but the KIA bullpen was brutal until extra innings. KIA reliever Kwak Jeong-cheol(3.88 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) threw all 3 extra frames and only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 3.

Lotte 4, Doosan 1
W - Jeong Won-joon (7-5), L - Kim Seong-bae, S - Jon Adkins (12)

Lotte starter Jeong Won-joon(4.27 ERA, 1.52 WHIP) absolutely handcuffed the Doosan Bears for 8 1/3 innings(111 pitches, 72 strikes). Jeong allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. His only mistake came on a solo homer by 2nd baseman Kim Jae-ho(.239/.339/.402) in the 6h inning. With the score knotted at 0 in the 3rd inning, Lotte put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs thanks to a pair of defensive miscues by Doosan. Lotte left fielder Park Jeong-joon(.333/.429/.516) dropped a base hit down the right field line for a double. Both runners would score easily and give Lotte a 2-0 lead. Lotte would add 2 more insurance runs thanks to a few more defensive miscues. Doosan was just bad in the field. Throwing pickoff throws into the outfield, bad throws to first, losing balls in the lights, passed balls. It was a little of everything. Nothing went right for the Bears and Lotte took full advantage.