3/27 Opening Day Roundup

Doosan 8, KIA 3
W - Kelvin Jiminez (1-0), L - Aquilino Lopez (0-1)
Doosan HR - Goh Yeong-min(1), Lee Seong-yeol (1)

Doosan rallied for 6 runs in the 3rd inning and that would have been enough to unsure an opening day victory. The Bears delivered 5 extra base hits in the inning, including a 2-run bomb from 2nd baseman Goh Yeong-min and a solo blast from DH Lee Seong-yeol. Aquilino Lopez struggled through 6 innings. He allowed 6 runs on 10 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. Doosan left fielder Kim Hyeon-su is off to a good start in defending his batting title. He went 4-4, all singles, with 2 runs scored. Doosan starter Kelvin Jiminez pitched well enough to earn the W and not get sent home. Jiminez tossed 5 innings(99 pitches, 67 strikes) of 2-run ball. He allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. 2nd baseman Ahn Chi-hong was the tallest midget for KIA. He hit a 2-run double off Jiminez in the 4th inning.

SK 3, Hanhwa 2
W - Ken Kadokura (1-0), L - Jose Capellan (0-1), S - Lee Seung-ho (1)
SK HR - None Hanhwa HR - Kim Tae-wan(1)

Ken Kadokura picked up where he left off. Kadokura 7 solid innings(101 pitches, 62 strikes) of 2-run baseball. He allowed only 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Hanhwa 1st baseman Kim Tae-wan tagged Kadokura for a 2-run homer in the 1st inning and that was the last run the Eagles would get. Jose Capellan didn't earn a plane ticket home. He also tossed 7 innings(110 pitches, 64 strikes), but was, um, effectively wild. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks with 5 Ks. After Kim's 2-run bomb in the top of the 1st, the Wyverns answered with a 2-run rally of their own. SK loaded the bases with 2 outs. Capellan uncorked a wild pitch to score SK DH Kim Jae-hyeon from 3rd. After a walk to re-load the bases, Capellan threw another wild one in the dirt to score 1st baseman Park Jeong-kwon from 3rd. SK added the go ahead run in the 2nd inning when 2nd baseman Jeong Geun-woo hit a soft single into left to score catcher Park Kyeong-won from 3rd. That was all the scoring SK needed or would get.

LG 7, Samsung 5 (11)
W - Lee Dong-hyeon (1-0), L - Baek Jeong-hyeon, S - Shinya Okamoto (1)
LG HR - Oh Ji-hwan (1), Lee Jin-yeong (1) Samsung HR - Jin Kab-yong (1)

The Twins drew first blood on a sac fly in the first inning from newly acquired outfielder, Lee Byeong-gyu. The Lions struck back in the 2nd inning with a 2-run homer from catcher Jin Kab-yong. LG rallied for 3 more runs in the top of the 5th thanks to a 3-run bomb off the bat of shortstop Oh Ji-hwan. Facing a 4-2 deficit in the 6th inning, Samsung 2nd baseman Shin myeong-cheol hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to score first baseman Chae Tae-in from 2nd base. The Lions loaded the bases in the 8th inning with 1 out. Shin Myeong-cheol stepped to the plate with runners in scoring position and made LG pay again. Shin drilled a base hit into left field to score a pair and give Samsung a 5-4 lead. In the top of the 9th with 2 out, victory appeared certain. Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan had two strikes on LG slugger Lee Jin-yeong. Lee took an 0-2 pitch over the right field fence to tie the game at 5. The Lions went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth. On to extra innings. In the top of the 11th, LG put together a rally. With one out, 3rd baseman Jeong Seong-hoon drew a walk. Then, slugger Lee Jin-yeong hit a bloop single to left to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Lee advanced to 2nd on defensive indifference. Catcher Cho In-seong struck out swinging for the 2nd out. Oh Ji-hwan was walked to load the bases. 2nd baseman Park Yong-geun hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to score a pair and give LG a 7-5 advantage. The Lions managed to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, but Shinya Okamoto struck out Shin Myeon-cheol to end the game.

Nexen 3, Lotte 2
W - Geum Min-cheol, L - Ryan Sadowski, S - Son Seung-rak
Nexen HR - Kim Min-woo (1), Park Gui-tae (1) Lotte HR - Lee Dae-ho (1), Karim Garcia (1)

Last year's anonymous "Heroes" might have been a laughingstock, but the Nexen Heroes are undefeated! Former Doosan Bear Geum Min-cheol tossed 6 solid innings(104 pitches, 59 strikes) to earn his first W in Heroes burgundy. Geum allowed 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3. Ryan Sadowski did well enough not to earn a plane ticket home. Sadowski gave up a solo homer in the first inning to Heroes 3rd baseman Kim Min-woo. Sadowski gave up another 2-run homer to Heroes catcher Park Gui-tae in the 2nd inning, but managed to get through the next three innings without any additional damage. He only gave up 5 hits and struck out 3. This game wasn't without controversy. With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Kim Ju-chan hit a fly ball to deep right field. The ball either hit the top of the wall or was interfered with by a fan. Either way, the hit was ruled a double and Kim had to go back to second. Heroes reliever Son Seung-rak recorded the final two outs to earn the save for himself and the W for the Heroes.