4/2 Roundup and News

Nexen 14, LG 5
W - Geum Min-cheol (2-0), L - Edgar Gonzalez (0-1)
Nexen HR - None LG HR - Lee Taek-geun (1)

Nexen actually held a 14-0 lead until the 8th inning. This game was a hit parade. Every Nexen starter except 2nd baseman Kim Il-kyeong recorded a base hit. Six different Heroes recorded 2 RBIs. Nexen catcher Kang Gui-tae continued his hot start by going 3-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Nexen first baseman Lee Sung-yong finished 2-4 with a walk, 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Nexen starter Geum Min-cheol was able to cruise for 5 2/3 innings(97 pitches, 62 strikes) of shutout baseball. Geum allowed 3 hits, 1 walk and 3 hit batsmen while striking out 5. LG starter Edgar Gonzalez suffered most of the damage. Gonzo gave up 11 runs on 11 hits, 4 walks and a hit batsman during his 4 1/3 innings of work. I think he might have punched his ticket home with this outing.

Doosan 10, SK 3
W - Kelvin Jimenez (2-0), L - Gary Glover (0-1)
Doosan HR - Kim Dong-ju (2), Goh Yeong-min (2), Lee Seong-yeol (2), Lee Won-seok (1) SK HR - None

If Doosan wanted to send a message in their first game in 2010 against their biggest rival, 10 runs was a good way to go about it. SK actually held a 2-1 lead as late as the 5th inning thanks to a 2-RBI triple from outfielder Cho Dong-hwa. Gary Glover was cruising into the 6th inning, but surrendered back-to-back solo homers to 2nd baseman Goh Yeong-min and DH Lee Seong-yeol to give Doosan a 3-2 lead. Doosan would batter the SK bullpen for 7 runs during the next three innings. Lee would finish the game 2-4 with 3 RBIs. Doosan left fielder Kim Hyeon-su was held hitless in 4 at bats. I had a feeling his run at a .900 batting average wouldn't hold up. Doosan infielder Lee Won-seok ended the evening 2-4 with a homer, 3 RBIs and 1 run scored. Kelvin Jimenez tossed 6 innings(78 pitches, 52 strikes) of 2-run ball to earn his 2nd KBO win. Jimenez surrendered 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.

Samsung 8, Hanhwa 1
W - Yoon Seong-hwan (1-0) , L - Jose Capellan (0-2)
Samsung HR - None Hanhwa HR - None

8-1 makes this game sounds close. Hanhwa looked awful in every facet of the game on Friday night. The Eagles had 13 base runners, but could only plate 1. They were charged with 4 errors in the field, but made at least twice as many. Jose Capellan looked worse than his stat line, but a reliever came in and allowed Samsung to scored 5 runs. This was a loss that ages managers and coaches. Samsung ace Yoon Seong-hwan never looked over matched or in trouble during his 6 innings(110 pitches, 74 strikes) of shutout baseball. He gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Samsung left fielder Park Han-yi went 2-3 with a double, 2 walks and 3 RBIs. Center fielder Lee Yong-wook went 3-6 with an RBI and a run scored. He was a homer away from a cycle. I'm not going to give the blow by blow, but this was an ugly, ugly game for the Eagles.

KIA 3, 해운대 Giants 2
W - Yoon Seok-min (1-0), L - Ryan Sadowski (0-2), S - Yoo Dong-hoon(2)
KIA HR - None Giants HR - None

The scoring in this one started in the 2nd inning. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, KIA catcher Kim Sang-hoon hit a ball back to Ryan Sadowski. The ball bounced off Sadowski's hip and rolled away from him. The runners were able to advance and Kim was safe. KIA took a 1-0 lead on the play. Shortstop Lee Hyeong-gon singled to left to score the second KIA run. Lotte didn't answer back until the 6th inning when right fielder Karim Garcia recorded an RBI ground out. KIA answered back in the bottom of the inning with another RBI single from Kim Sang-hoon. Lotte responded with an RBI single in the 8th inning from Karim Garcia. The KIA bullpen bent, but didn't break. Yoo Dong-hoon recording the final 4 outs to nail down the save. KIA starter Yoon Seok-min looked solid in his 2010 debut. Yoon threw 6 innings(97 pitches, 65 strikes) of 1-run baseball. He gave up 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. Ryan Sadowski threw well enough to avoid the dreaded "Plane Ride of Shame." Sadowski threw 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 hit batsmen with 1 lonely K.