4/11 Roundup and News

SK ace Kim Kwang-hyeon is set to make his first start of the 2010 season on Tuesday against Hanhwa. Here's hoping he knocked off some of the rust.

KIA 3, Samsung 2
W - Yang Hyeon-jong (2-1), L - Francisco Cruceta (2-1), S - Kwak Jeong-cheol (2)
KIA HR - None Samsung HR - None

Samsung right fielder Park Han-yi delivered a 2-run single in the bottom of the 2nd to break a scoreless tie. KIA cut the Samsung lead in half in the 4th inning when Samsung left fielder Kang Bong-gyu badly misplayed a routine flyball. Kang called off center fielder Lee Yeong-wook and failed to make the catch. It was made even worse by the fact that he had his neck warmer pulled up past his nose. The error allowed KIA DH Na Ji-won to score from first. KIA took the lead in the 5th inning on a 2-RBI single from catcher Kim Sang-hoon. Francisco Cruceta was the tough luck loser for Samsung. The Dominican national tossed 7 innings(108 pitches, 67 strikes) and gave up all 3 runs(2 earned). Cruceta allowed 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. KIA reliever Kwak Jeong-cheol threw 3 2/3 innings(45 pitches, 33 strikes) of scoreless relief against the Lions. Kwak gave up only 2 hits and struck out 6.

Lotte 10, Hanhwa 9(10)
W - Lee Jeong-hoon(1-0) , L - Julio DePaula (0-3)
Lotte HR - None Hanhwa HR - None

Hanhwa should trademark the "Out-of-no-where-ridiculous-rally." They've done it in three consecutive games against the Giants. This time they posted a 7-spot in the 5th inning and would have won if their bullpen wasn't awful. This Hanhwa offense looks fairly benign, but they're capable of putting up a lot of runs in a short time. I'm really curious to see if they'll keep doing this all year. Hanhwa reliever Julio DePaula looks like a man about to receive a plane ticket home. Every time he pitches, he gives up runs. This really wasn't the case of a two great offenses slugging it out. It was the case of two really crappy pitching staffs hurling slop at each other. The two teams combined for 17 walks and 22 hits. I'm not giving a blow-by-blow because, well, with the way these teams pitched it would take three paragraphs and I'm a lazy, lazy man. I will tell you this much, Lotte won the game in the least entertaining fashion possible. A walk-off walk. With the bases loaded, DePaula walked Lotte DH Hong Seong-heun to score the winning run. Lotte third baseman Lee Dae-ho went 4-5 with 4 RBIs. Hanhwa DH Lee Do-hyeong went 2-4 with a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Moving on...

LG 8, Doosan 5
W - Kim Kwang-sam (1-1), L - Kim Sun-woo (1-1), S - Shinya Okamoto (2)
LG HR - Cho In-seong (2) Doosan HR - None

Now, this is the Kim Sun-woo I remember. Kim was battered for 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks during his 5 2/3 innings of work. Kim managed to strike out 5 before getting the hook. With the game tied at 4 in the top of the 6th, LG mounted a rally. With one out and a runner on 2nd, LG right fielder Oh Ji-wan single up the middle to score the run from 2nd and give LG a 5-4 lead. Oh advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Oh would later score on center fielder Lee Dae-hyeong's single. Oh finished the game 3-4 with a double 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. LG added two more runs in the 8th inning on an RBI sac fly from Lee Byeong-gyu and an RBI single from DH Park Yeong-taek. Doosan managed to add another run during their fake rally in the bottom of the 8th to make it a save opportunity for Shinya Okamoto. Okamoto threw a scoreless 9th and earned the save.

SK 10, Nexen 1
W - Eom Jeong-wook (1-1), L - Kim Sang-su (0-1), S - Goh Hyo-joon (2)
SK HR - Park Jeong-hwan (1) Nexen HR- None

10-1 makes this game sound close. The score might as well have been 1,000-1 with the way LG played. The Twins had as many errors as they did hits. SK starter Eom Jeong-wook and reliever Goh Hyo-joon threw a combined 1-hitter. Eom tossed 5 innings(86 pitches, 47 strikes) and gave up 1-run on 1 hit, 3 walks and 1 hit batsman. He struck out 3. Goh threw 4 innings(63 pitches, 39 strikes) of scoreless relief. Goh allowed only 2 walks and struck out 4. SK 1st baseman Park Jeong-hwan enjoyed a great day at the plate. Park went 4-6 with a double, a homer, 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored. SK center fielder Kim Kang-min went 2-4 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.