5/6 Roundup and News

Doosan 14, LG 4
W - Kelvin Jimenez (6-1), L - Edgar Gonzalez (0-5)
Doosan HR - Kim Dong-joo (4) LG HR - None

I'm starting to think Edgar is trying to get released. I don't think he's capable of making an appearance without giving up eight runs. Gonzo was simply no match for the disciplined Bears offense. LG is 12-8-1 in games not started by Edgar Gonzalez. Kelvin Jimenez wasn't spectacular, but he got the job done against LG. Jimenez tossed 6 innings(101 pitches, 65 strikes) and gave up 3 runs. Jimenez allowed 9 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. It would be easier to tell you the Bears that didn't have good days at the plate, but I'll stick to the highlights. Left fielder Kim Hyeon-su went 4-5 with a walk and 3 RBIs. 2nd baseman Oh Jae-won finished the day 4-6 with 1 RBI and 4 runs scored. Doosan only had three extra base hits out of 17. It felt like every time a Doosan bat touched the ball, it was a basehit and they kept the line moving almost all day.

Nexen 13, SK 4
W - Lee Bo-geun (1-0), L - Song Eun-beom (4-2)
Nexen HR - Song Ji-man (4), Kim Min-woo (5), Yoo Han-joon (4) SK HR - Park Jae-sang (2)

What got into the Heroes? Stopping the Wyverns winning streak was one thing, but taking 2 of out 3? Who saw that coming? This game was actually fairly competitive until SK turned to its "other guys." Every good KBO team has a few solid relievers and a couple "other guys." It's usually these rarely seen "others" that come into a game and turn a 2-run lead into a 7-run lead. Lotte fans know what I'm talking about. Well, last night SK used players named Eom Jeong-wook, Gah Deuk-yeom, Kim Seon-gyu and Lim Seong-hyeon. Not exactly household names even in their own households. Every Nexen starter either scored or drove in a run. This was the case of good KBO offense running into bad KBO relief pitching. I really can't believe the Heroes didn't score 15 or 20. Nexen DH Song Ji-man went 3-5 with a homer, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored. Doug Clark scored three times, but went 1-5 with a double. Clark has had a tough start to the 2010 season. The Nexen outfielder is sporting a nifty .639 OPS so far with 3 homers.

Lotte 6, Samsung 2
W - Song Seung-joon (3-3), L - Francisco Cruceta (3-4)
Lotte HR - None Samsung HR - None

Lotte was able to get to Samsung starter Francisco Cruceta and Lotte starter Song Seung-joon was able to take the Giants deep enough into the ballgame that they didn't have to worry about their arson squad, erm, bullpen. Cruceta wasn't really that bad, but he couldn't stop the bleeding during a 4-run rally in the 2nd inning. Song tossed 7 innings(114 pitches, 79 strikes) of 2-run baseball. Song gave up 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Lotte reliever Lim Kyeong-won tossed 2 innings of scoreless relief. Lotte DH Hong Seong-heun and left fielder Kim Joo-chan both drove in a pair of runs. Samsung outfielder Park Han-yi went 3-3 with a walk and a run scored. Park finished with 3 of 5 Samsung hits. Yesterday was a long day for Samsung fans. 2 hits by guys not named Park Han-yi. It was a weak effort all around. Moving on...

KIA 3, Hanhwa 2
W - Seo Jae-wong (2-0), L - Kim Hyeok-min (0-4), S - Yoo Dong-hoon (5)
KIA HR - Na Ji-won (3), Kim Sang-hoon (5) Hanhwa HR - None

This KIA pitching staff is actually pretty good...against Hanhwa. Seo Jae-wong was roughed up in the first inning, but settled down and managed to have a quality outing. Seo gave up a 2-run single to Hanhwa third baseman Song Kwang-min. After that, the Eagles didn't get much for the next 5 innings. Seo threw 6 innings(100 pitches, 63 strikes) and only allowed 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 hit batsman while striking out 3. Hanhwa starter Kim Hyeok-min was very un-Kim Hyeok-min-like in that he didn't give up ridiculous amounts of runs early. He gave up a few runs late and still managed to lose. In the 6th inning, KIA left fielder Na Ji-won connected for a 2-run blast. The next batter, catcher Kim Sang-hoon gave KIA the lead on a solo homer. KIA reliever Kwak Jeong-cheol threw two scoreless innings of relief and closer Yoo Dong-hoon recorded the save with a scoreless 9th.