4/27 Roundup and News

I've been asked to do weekly updates on the Lotte Giants for Busan Haps and my first one went up yesterday. The rub is that starting next week I'll be interviewing Jerry Royster for the pieces I'll be writing each week.

LG/Samsung was rained out in Seoul. Too bad they weren't playing in Daegu. The weather cleared up in the early morning and the weather was perfect for baseball.

SK 4, KIA 0
W - Ken Kadokura (6-0), L - Yoon Seok-min (1-1), S - Lee Seung-ho (10)
SK HR - None KIA HR - None

This SK team is a machine. I believe this makes 11 wins in a row. I'd be surprised if they rattled off a 20+ game unbeaten streak, but this team has done it before. The only thing I'd be concerned about if I were an SK fan is that SK might peak too soon, coast into the playoffs and get upset in the Korean Series. Yeah, that would be on my list of worries in between an attack from North Korea using a massive magnifying glass and The East Windup Chronicle becoming a hardcore pornography site. Ken Kadokura simply tossed 6 shutout innings(101 pitches, 62 strikes) and gave up only 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Then, SK turned things over to relievers Jeong Woo-ram and Lee Seung-ho. Yeah, the game was essentially over at that point. SK outfielder continued his hot start by going 1-2 with a double, 2 walks, 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. Park Jae-hong came on as a pinch hitter in the 7th and delivered a 2-run double during a late SK rally. KIA starter Yoon Seok-min had the unfortunate luck of running into this SK team. Yoon struck out 10 during his 6 2/3 innings(101 pitches, 64 strikes), but he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks.

Doosan 14, Hanhwa 5
W - Oh Hyeon-taek (1-0), L - Yang Seung-jin (0-2)
Doosan HR - Kim Hyeon-su (2), Choi Joon-seok (2) Hanhwa HR - Choi Jin-haeng (4), Song Kwang-min (1), Choo Seung-woo (1)

If Hanhwa could have only faced Doosan's #8 and #9 hitters for the entire game, they...probably still would have lost. Catcher Yang Eui-ji and outfielder Lim Jae-cheol combined to go 0-4 with 5 walks and 3 runs scored. They were the only Doosan Bears who didn't record base hits. I guess the reason was that they were too busy taking pitches and walking to first base. Five different Bears drove in 2 or more runs. 2nd baseman Goh Yeong-min went 3-5 with a walk, a double, 3 RBIs and 1 run scored. This game was so in hand that embattled starter-turned-reliever Hong Sang-sam got in the game. I get the impression that Hong is going to turn into "The Human Victory Cigar" for the Bears. Up by 10? Get Hong warming up!

Lotte 10, Nexen 2
W - Jeong Won-joon (2-2), L - Kim Sang-hyeon (0-3)
Lotte HR - Karim Garcia 2(6), Jeong Hoon (1) Nexen HR - Song Ji-man (2)

When Lotte gets a quality start, they're really tough to beat. The only problem is they haven't had very man quality starts. Jeong Won-joon tossed 6 2/3 innings(110 pitches, 67 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Jeong allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 HBP while striking out 6. Lotte jumped all over Nexen starter Kim Sang-hyeon in the first inning and didn't look back. Karim Garcia continued his red hot start to the season by going 2-4 with a walk, 2 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Lotte DH Hong Seong-heun went 2-4 with a walk, a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Catcher Kang Min-ho chipped in a 2-4 effort with 2 RBIs and 1 run scored. Oh, and Lotte is out of the cellar. Welcome to the season guys!