Friday, October 23, 2009

2009 Korean Series, Game 6

SK 3, KIA 2
W - Song Eun-beom, L - Yoon Seok-min, S - Chae Byeong-yong
The series is tied, 3-3

I don't think we can blame the loss on Yoon Seok-min making his 2nd start after 6 weeks of inactivity and going on short rest. I think he was the same pitcher he was in game 2. He just got beat. Yoon never appeared to labor or struggle. SK finally took a more patient approach and it paid off. The Wyverns did a better job of taking Yoon deep into counts and wearing him out than they did in game 2. Yoon tossed 5 innings(89 pitches, 62 strikes) and gave up all 3 SK runs. He was tagged for 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. I was really hoping to see Yoon dominate again. Injured SK ace Kim Kwang-hyeon used the 2007 playoffs to cement his status as the elite pitcher in the KBO. If Yoon could have used the 2009 playoffs in a similar fashion, it would have made for a great story.

Song Eun-beom looked much sharper in his 2nd start back from his "shoulder soreness." Song threw 5 innings(62 pitches, 42 strikes) of shutout baseball. He gave up only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. He was lifted after the 5th because his shoulder tightened up on him. Coaches went out to the mound, but Song made it through the inning.

SK gave the start at DH to Lee Ho-joon and he took advantage of the opportunity. Lee broke a scoreless tie in the 2nd inning with a solo homer and finished the game 2-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. SK also pushed across runs in the 3rd and 4th innings 1st baseman Park Jeong-kwon hit an RBI sac fly in the third inning and outfielder Cho Dong-hwa hit and RBI single in the 4th.

KIA finally got on the scoreboard in the 8th inning. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, KIA 1st baseman took an 0-2 pitch from SK reliever Goh Hyo-joon back up the middle for a 2 RBI single. SK called on Chae Byeong-yong to end the threat. He quickly recorded the final out of the 8th and got the final 3 outs in the 9th to earn the save.

Game 7 is scheduled for 2 PM Seoul time on Saturday. I'm assuming we'll get a game 3 rematch of SK's Gary Glover and KIA's Rick Guttormson, but Game 7 will likely be an "All Hands On Deck" scenario for both clubs.

2 comments:

Simon said...

Kia Tigers Korea Series 2009 champs!!!!!! Just saw the last 3 innings of the game at a public TV in downtown Seoul.. I don't know why but.. the fairly large crowd that gathered were very cheering for Kia..

Simon said...

^^^^ that came out wrong LOL