Thursday, June 4, 2009

6/3 Roundup and News

Doosan Bears outfielder and lead off hitter, Lee Jong-wook, is done for the year after suffering a broken jaw and laceration on his neck in a collision with a teammate. It sounds like we're going to see more of rookie infielder Jeong Su-bin in the lead off role. Jeong is has a season line of .232/.349/.449. I think he'll do fine hitting in front of the Doosan thumpers.

"Kim Seek" at the Joongang Daily looks at the recent injury history at Gwangju's ballpark.

On to the roundup...

Hanhwa 11, LG 10
W - Kim Hyeok-min (6-3), L - Shim Su-chang (5-4), S - Brad Thomas (7)

Two straight days with 11-10 win for Hanhwa. If they do it again tonight I'm devoting this blog to a play-by-play of the entire game. It'll be a special post. Actually, I hate writing about slug fests. I'd much rather write an entire post about a no-hitter than an 11-10 slop fest. It's an easier post and I'm really, really lazy. In the time I spent bitching, I could have finished this recap.

Victor Diaz hit a 2-run bombs in the 1st 2nd innings, but for some reason the broadcast team named Lee Beom-ho MVP of the game. I guess the guy who spoke English(or Spanish) couldn't make it to the game, so the producers panicked and picked Lee. Lee hit a 2-run bomb in the 7th inning, but he finished the game 1-5. Whatever. After Diaz' homer in the 1st inning, the Twins answered back with a Lee Jin-yeong grand slam. It's important to note that Hanhwa walked Roberto Petagine to load the bases and get to Lee... IN THE FIRST INNING. This could become a trend as the season wears on. Leading 10-8 in the 9th inning, the Eagles tacked on an insurance run thanks to an RBI single from shortstop Song Kwang-min. Song's RBI proved to be the difference in the game because the Hanhwa bullpen tried awfully hard to let LG finish a comeback in the 9th inning. 1st baseman Choi Dong-su fouled out to end the game with the tying run on 3rd and the go-ahead run on 2nd. The stat line of the day goes to LG center fielder and lead off hitter Park Yong-taek. Park went 5-6 with a double and 4 runs scored.

SK 2, Lotte 1
W - Jeon Byeong-doo (2-2), L - Na Seung-hyeon (0-1), S - Lee Seung-ho (4)

The SK Wyverns have really found something in Jeon Byeong-doo. The Wyverns are the Busan native's third stop in the KBO. He spent 2 cups of coffee with the Doosan Bears and worked mainly out of the bullpen with the KIA Tigers. I'm surprised he's only 25 years old. Last night Jeon worked over the Giants like a seasoned pro. Jeon tossed 7 2/3 innings(114 pitches, 77 strikes) of 1-run baseball. He allowed only 6 hits while striking out 6. With the game tied at 1 and runners on the corners with 0 outs, SK shortstop Kim Yeon-hoon sprinted home after Jeong Geun-woo stole 2nd base to give SK a 2-1 advantage. SK reliever Lee Seung-ho tossed a scoreless 9th to earn the save.

Samsung 10, Seoul Heroes 2
W - Francisco Cruceta (4-2), L - Jang Won-sam (2-4)

I really can't believe how well Cruceta was throwing last night. His fastball had life on it that we really haven't seen this season and he was throwing his breaking stuff for strikes. Cruceta tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings(96 pitches, 57 strikes). He allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9. 10-2 makes this game sound close if the cruddy reliever named Kim Sang-su(not the 19 year old 2nd baseman that is stealing the hearts of Daegu) hadn't given up a 2-run homer to Heroes shortstop Kang Jeong-ho, the Heroes would have been shutout. The bottom of the Samsung batting order did the majority of the damage against the Heroes. The Lions' 6-9 hitters combined to go 6-12 with 2 walks, 7 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Ageless wonder Yang Joon-hyeok went 3-4 with a double, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. It seemed like he was on base all night.

KIA 5, Doosan 2
W - Aquilino Lopez (3-2), L - Jeong Jae-hoon (4-3), S - Yoo Dong-hoon (2)

Francisco Cruceta wasn't the only foreign pitcher to have a successful start last night. Aquilino Lopez(better known by me as Senor Smoke) tossed 7 2/3 innings(118 pitches, 79 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Lopez allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batsman while striking out 4. KIA center fielder and lead off hitter Kim Won-seop was the KIA offense last night. Kim took Jeong Jae-hoon's first pitch of the game over the right field fence for a lead off homer. Kim would reach base 3 times in this game and score every time. He finished 2-4 with a HBP, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. New KIA closer Yoo Dong-hoon(Kim Seok-min is officially back in the rotation...possibly for good, but who knows) recorded the final 4 outs to earn the save.

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