Friday, June 5, 2009

6/4 Roundup and News

Hanhwa 4, LG 0
W - Ryu Hyeon-jin (7-2), L - Bong Jung-geun (3-7)

Ryu Hyeon-jin essentially put the Eagles on his back and carried them to a complete game shutout. The Hanhwa bullpen desperately needed a day off and the Hanhwa ace gave them a chance to relax for a day. Ryu needed 119 pitches(76 strikes) to go the distance. Ryu allowed 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. LG ace Bong Jung-geun was the tough luck loser. Bong tossed 6 innings(117 pitches, 73 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Bong allowed 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9. Bong only made two mistakes, but the Hanhwa Eagles made him pay. Left fielder Choi Jin-haeng hit a solo homer in the 3rd inning and 3rd baseman Lee Beom-ho added another solo shot in the 4th. Hanhwa added a pair of insurance runs in the 9th inning thanks to a 2-run single from shortstop Song Kwang-min.

Lotte 9, SK 4
W - Song Seung-joon (3-3), L - Goh Hyo-joon (4-4), S - Lee Jeong-hoon (1)

The Wyverns actually held a 4-3 lead in this game, but a 4 run rally in the 7th inning left the Wyverns facing a 7-4 deficit. SK stuck with starter Goh Hyo-joon a little too long. He ran out of gas in the 7th inning and was knocked around quite a bit before he was lifted. Goh was pulled after his 120th pitch. He left runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs for reliever Jeong Woo-ram. Jeong surrendered a 2-run base hit to Lee In-koo to give Lotte a 5-4 advantage. With 1 out, Jeong was lifted for reliever Chae Byeong-yeong. Chae quickly recorded the 2nd out of the inning, but the next batter Hong Seong-heun hit a 2-run homer over the right field fence. The homer was Hong's 2nd of the day. He also hit a 3-run bomb in the 1st inning. Lotte reliever Lee Jeong-hoon did something that a Lotte reliever doesn't often do. He didn't give up a lead. Lee stayed on for the final 3 innings and only allowed 3 hits and 1 hit batsman while striking out 2. Lotte starter Song Seung-joon was up to his normal tricks. He allowed a bunch of baserunners, a handful of runs and ate up a few innings. Song allowed 4 runs in 6 innings(113 pitches, 63 strikes). He surrendered 9 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.

Samsung 6, Seoul Heroes 5
W - Oh Seung-hwan (2-0), L - Hwang Doo-seong (1-2)

Samsung starter Yoon Seong-hwan and Heroes starter Ma Il-yeong were both awful. Neither pitcher made it out of the 5th inning. Samsung held a slim 5-4 lead in the 7th inning when reliever Jeong Hyeon-wook allowed the Heroes to tie the game. With a runner on 1st and 2 outs, Heroes slugger Cliff Brumbaugh hit a fly ball to center. For some reason, Shin Myeong-cheol was playing center field for the Lions. He dove for the ball, missed it and watched it roll to the warning track. When the dust settled, the run scored and Cliff Brumbaugh was at 3rd with standup triple. Cliff finished the game 2-4 with a walk, a homer, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 9th. With runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Samsung warm body/backup outfielder Lee Yeong-wook hit a line drive to the gap in right/center. The runner from 2nd scored easily and Lee received an ice water shower and savage beating from his teammates.

Doosan 5, KIA 4
W - Lim Tae-hoon (7-1), L - Son Yeong-min (1-1), S - Lee Yong-chan (14)

Despite returning to the rotation KIA pitcher Yoon Seok-min still appears to have a closer's mentality. He still has the "sad puppy/reliever face" when he gives up a homer. Actually, it's the same look I give my coworkers whenever they start screaming...or as they call it "having a conversation." Yoon pitched well, but it was obvious he was trying to strike everyone out. That's a fine strategy if he was only coming in for one inning to air it out, but a starter needs to keep himself and his team in the ballgame. Yoon allowed 4 runs in his 6 innings(122 pitches, 72 strikes) of work. He gave up 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out 10. Most of the damage came in a 3-run rally in the 3rd inning. Infielder Lee Won-seok drove in Jeong Su-bin with an RBI double. Then, Doosan left fielder Kim Hyeon-su hit a homerun to score Lee and give Doosan a 3-0 advantage. KIA would answer back in the bottom of the 3rd inning with 3 runs of their own. Rookie 2nd baseman Ahn Chi-hong hit a 2-run homer to make the score 3-2. Then, with 1 out and a runner on 2nd, right fielder Lee Jong-beom looped a single to right to drive in the run and tie the game at 3. KIA would take a 4-3 lead in the 4th inning thanks to a solo homer from 3rd baseman Kim Sang-hyeon. Doosan tied the game at 4 in the 6th on a Lee Won-seok double. Jeong Su-bin was able to score from first on the play. Then in the 7th inning, Doosan untied the game. With a runner on 2nd and 1 out, right fielder Lim Jae-cheol blooped a single into right/center to score the go ahead run. Lim essentially threw his bat at an outside pitch and got lucky. Doosan closer Lee Yong-chan tossed a 1-2-3 9th to earn the save.

1 comment:

Eujin said...

I was at the KIA game. Saw something I've never seen before, not even on TV; a broken bat home run! How often does that happen? I would've said it wasn't possible if you'd asked me before the game.

Jeong Su-bin got four hits, two of them on infield hits beating out the throw to first with his speed and two doubles, scored both his runs under the tag at home plate and made a very nice diving catch in center field. He's stepping up nicely for Lee Jong-uk (and he bats left-handed).

A very young team Kim Gyeong-mun went with. When your starting pitcher's 19 years old, your closer is 20, your leadoff hitter 19, second up 23 and third up 21, what you have wouldn't even be an experienced college team.