KBO Playoffs Round 2, Games 3 and 4

Game 3
SK, 3, Doosan 1 (10)
W - Goh Hyo-joon, L - Goh Chang-seong

Game 4
SK 8, Doosan 3
W - Lee Seung-ho, L - Lim Tae-hoon

The series is tied 2-2.

Saturday's game 3 was one of the most boring close games I have ever seen. This game took over 4 hours to complete. For a game with exactly 4 runs and 13 hits, that's inexcusable. Every at bat felt like a 10-pitch epic and 11 pitchers were used.

SK broke through in the first inning against starting pitcher Hong Sang-sam. SK 1st baseman Park Jeong-kwon delivered an RBI single to right. Then, nothing happened until the bottom of the 6th. Doosan tied the game when SK pitcher Yoon Gil-hoon walked Doosan DH Choi Joon-seok with the bases loaded. Yoon managed to escape the jam with the score still tied. With the score still tied in the top of the 9th, SK put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. SK catcher Jeong Sang-ho hit a sharp line drive to right center. Doosan center fielder, Lee Jong-wook, made a fantastic diving catch and followed it with a strike to 2nd base that doubled off the runner and ended the threat. It was simply one of the most clutch plays I've ever seen. If there were an MVP for the 2nd round, Lee would surely be it. He's looked like the best player on the field for the entire series.

SK would threaten again in the 10th. With a runner on 2nd and one out, SK left fielder Park Jae-sang hit a line drive to right. Doosan right fielder Jeong Su-bin whiffed on the catch and watched the ball roll all the way to the warning track. The run scored easily and Park made it to 3rd on what should have been a fairly routine fly ball. It was one of the least clutch plays I've ever seen. Or the "Anti-Lee." Park would score on a flyball from pinch hitter Kim Yeon-hoon. The bottom of the 10th was fairly uneventful.

I think Sunday's game went even longer than Saturday's and they only played 9 innings. SK broke out to an early lead thanks to a wild pitch from Doosan starter Kim Sun-woo that scored SK DH Kim Jae-hyeon from 3rd in the 1st inning. SK tacked on two more runs in the 2nd inning on and RBI singles from 3rd baseman Choi Jeong and 2nd baseman Jeong Geun-woo. Doosan struck back in the bottom of the 3rd with a homer from 2nd baseman/hero Goh Yeong-min. This time he hit a 3-run "Goh-mer" to tie the game.

The two teams traded base runners until the top of the 7th inning. Various relievers pitched in and out of jams. It was all quite dizzying. In the 7th, SK 2nd baseman Jeong Geun-woo reached on an error by Doosan shortstop Son Si-heon. This...was an omen of things to come. SK left fielder Park Jae-sang ripped a single to left to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. The next batter, 1st baseman Park Jeong-kwon, hit a towering fly ball to left. Doosan left fielder Kim Hyeon-su reached the wall and leapt for the ball. It landed about 10 inches under his glove. On the replay, it appeared that the ball was touched by the outstretched arms of a fan. The fan didn't interfere with Kim, but he probably should have kept his hands back. Both runners scored on the play and this opened the floodgates for a 4-run rally. SK even tacked on an "eff-you" run in the 8th inning. Park Jeong-kwon, center fielder Kim Kang-min and 3rd baseman Choi Jeong all drove in 3 runs for the Wyverns.

This series will end, one way or another, on Tuesday night. The winner moves on, the loser goes home. Ken Kadokura will get the start for SK and Geum Min-cheol will get the nod for the Bears.