Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Weekend Roundup: 9/19 Games

Lotte 5, Doosan 4
W - Song Seung-joon (13-8), L - Geum Min-cheol (7-2), S - Lee Jeong-hoon (8)

Lotte looks like a determined bunch. It's too bad it took 5 months for this team to really start playing like a playoff contender. Doosan rookie Hong Sang-sam got the start and proved he didn't belong anywhere near a playoff pitching staff. He was chased from the game in the 4th inning. Lotte starter Song Seung-joon didn't fare much better, but he kept his team in the game and managed to eat a few innings. Song tossed 5 1/3 innings and gave up 4 runs. Song allowed 5 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3. Lotte took a 4-3 lead on a solo homer from slugger Karim Garcia, but their 6th inning insurance run on an RBI single from 1st baseman Kim Ju-chan was the difference on the scoreboard. Garcia has warmed up during the push for the last playoff spot. He's been moved up from 7th in the batting order and is now hitting in the cleanup spot.

SK 12, Hanhwa 1
W - Gary Glover (8-3), L - Jeong Jong-min (0-5)

Can the Eagles just pack it in now and avoid having to suffer embarrassing losses like this? Eagles starter Jeong Jong-min didn't make it out of the first inning. Hey, he got to shower and get out of the stadium before everyone else. It almost makes more sense for him to pitch poorly on purpose. The SK offense was lead by Kim Jae-hyeon. Kim finished 3-4 with a walk, a homer, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. 1st baseman Park Jeong-kwon also drove in 3 runs. SK starter Gary Glover tossed 6 innings(97 pitches, 64 strikes) of 1-run ball. Glover gave up only 6 hits and struck out 5.

Samsung 7, Seoul Heroes 0
W - Francisco Cruceta (9-9), L - Kim Yeong-min (1-3)

The Samsung pitching staff was able to shutout the Heroes after getting an early cushion from the Samsung O. Samsung infielder Shin Myeong-cheol started the party right in the 1st inning with a solo homer. Samsung added a sac fly from outfielder Park Han-yi in the 2nd inning. The Samsung offense busted the game wide open with a 4-run 4th inning. Park and center fielder Lee Yeong-wook both clubbed 2-run homers during the rally. Samsung starter Francisco Cruceta tossed 5 scoreless innings(86 pitches, 41 strikes) and earned an easy W. Fast Franky gave up 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8.

KIA 9, LG 6
W - Han Ki-joo (3-5), L - Jeong Jae-bok (2-5), S - Yoo Dong-hoon (21)

LG's Lee Dae-hyeong stole 5(!) bases in this game. Can you say "meaningless stat paddin"? I think he wants that Gold Glove award(given for overall performance in Korea, not only fielding like in the US). Lee lead the LG offense. He finished 3-5 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Both starting pitchers were fairly awful and this game turned into a battle of the cruddy middle relievers. KIA's bullpen actually performed reasonably well. Han Ki-joo tossed 4 innings of 1-run ball in relief. He gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Outfielder Na Ji-won and catcher Kim Sang-hoon both drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers. This was actually a fairly unwatchable game, given the participants(one team assured of a playoff spot and one team assured of a golf trip next week) and the, erm quality of the pitching. Let's just hope KIA is only using these guys to give their REAL relievers some rest.

No comments: