4/3 Roundup and News

KIA 4, 해운대 Giants 2
W - Aqulino Lopez (1-1), L - Jang Won-joon (0-2), S - Yoo Dong-hoon (3)
KIA HR - Kim Won-seop (1), Kim Sang-hyeon (2) Giants HR - Kang Min-ho (1)

With this loss, the Giants fell to 0-5. On Saturday, This stopped being funny and switched to sad. KIA jumped out to an early 2-0 thanks to a 2-run homer off the bat of outfielder Kim Won-seop. Lotte would answer back in the 2nd inning with a homer from catcher Kang Min-ho. The Giants would tie the game in the 4th inning on an RBI single from Kang. KIA responded in the bottom of the 4th with a solo homer from 2009 MVP/3rd baseman Kim Sang-hyeon. Aquilino Lopez looked like the Lopez from last year. He tossed 7 innings(90 pitches, 63 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Lopez gave up only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Jang Won-joon was the tough luck loser for the Giants. Jang threw 6 1/3 innings(103 pitches, 66 strikes) and allowed 3 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk with 6 K's. This Giants team just can't catch a break, but they did win the pre-season. Shouldn't they get a playoff spot for that?

LG 5, Nexen 4 (11)
W - Shinya Okamoto (1-0), L - Song Shin-yeong (0-1)
LG HR - None Nexen HR - None

LG jumped out to an early 4-run lead thanks to a 1st inning rally. It was a 1st inning hit parade for the LG Twins. Lee Byung-gyu, Park Byeong-ho, Lee Jin-yeong and Kim Tae-gun all hit RBI singles during the rally. Heroes starter Kang Yoon-guh only recorded 1 out before being pulled. The Heroes bullpen managed to shut out the Twins for the next 9 innings while the Heroes offense managed to claw their way back into the game. The Heroes managed to tie the game in the 7th inning. Facing a 4-2 deficit, left fielder Doug Clark delivered an RBI sac fly and 1st baseman Lee Sung-yong laced an RBI single into right. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the 11th. With a runner on 3rd and one out, backup catcher Cho In-seong singled through the middle to score the run and earn the W for Nexen.

SK 6, Doosan 5
W - Ken Kadokura (2-0), L - Lee Hyeon-seung (0-1), S - Goh Hyo-joon (1)
SK HR - None Doosan HR - None

With the score tied at 2 in the 4th inning, SK took a 3-2 lead thanks to an RBI sac fly from left fielder Park Jae-sang with the base loaded. SK would rally for three more runs in the 5th inning to take a 6-2 lead. With runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, 2rd baseman Choi Jeong ripped a double into left to score the first run of the inning. Then, center fielder Kim Kang-min singled back through the middle to drive in 2 runs. SK took a 4-run lead into the 9th inning. The Wyverns brought closer Lee Seung-ho into the game to close the door on Doosan. Doosan 1st baseman Choi Joon-seok lead off the inning with a single to right. Outfielder Lim Jae-cheol also singled to right to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. The next batter, catcher Yang Eui-ji singled back through the middle to score the first run of the inning. Lee was pulled and SK reliever Goh Hyo-joon was brought in to stop the rally. Goh started off well by getting Son Si-yeon to hit a grounder to third and a force out at second base. Goh gave up a walk to center fielder Lee Jong-wook to load the bases for 2nd baseman Lee Won-seok. Lee doubled to center to score a pair of runs and cut the SK lead to 6-5. Lee Jong-wook tried to score from 1st on the play, but after a collision at the plate, Lee was called out for the 2nd out of the inning. Goh struck out DH Lee Seong-yeol to end the game.

Hanhwa 11, Samsung 9
W - Ahn Yeong-myeong (1-0), L - Brandon Knight (1-1), S - Julio DePaula (1)
Hanhwa HR - Lee Do Hyeong 2(2) Samsung HR - Shin Myeong-cheol (1), Park Jin-man (1), Park Han-yi (1)

I turned this game off after the 2nd inning. Brandon Knight was awful. After throwing about 537 pitches during a 2-run Hanhwa rally in the 1st inning, Knight loaded the bases in the 2nd and gave up a grand slam home run to DH Lee Do-hyeong. Lee would add a solo homer in the 5th inning and finish the day 2-3 with a HBP, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Knight actually stuck around for 5 mediocre innings and allowed 7 runs(5 earned). Hanhwa starter Ahn Yeong-myeong wasn't much better, but the Hanhwa offense gave him a big enough lead to earn the W. Wins are a B.S. statistic. The Lions mount an amazing fake rally in the 8th inning to make the final look better than the game was. 11-9 sounds better in the paper than 11-4. Hanhwa was never really in any danger of losing this game. Hanhwa 1st baseman Kim Tae-wan enjoyed a solid day at the plate. Kim went 3-4 with a walk, a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Right fielder Choi Hyeong-woo was the tallest midget for the Lions. Choi went 2-4 with a walk, 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. Julio DePaula recorded the final 4 outs for his first KBO save.