6/17 Roundup and News

Yes, they played baseball. No, not many people turned up at the ballpark. The KBO did change the time of the games to 5 PM to accomodate the football game and I'm fairly certain most of the cheerleaders had the day off.

LG 6, Doosan 5
W - Lee Dong-hyeon (4-0), L - Les Walrond (4-2), S - Shinya Okamoto (11)
LG HR - Cho In-seong (10) Doosan HR - None

This was your typical mediocre KBO game in every sense of the word. Neither pitcher did much other than get hit and neither team really did anything worth writing about. It's fitting that the LG Zombies found a way to win this game. They are quite possibly the most boring, least skilled team in the KBO. At least Nexen and Hanhwa make for exciting recaps. LG just bums me out. The only thing remotely fascinating about this game was that Doosan lead off hitter/center fielder Lee Jong-wook reached 200 steals while no one was watching. After a three-run Doosan rally in the first inning, LG answered back with four in the second inning. LG catcher/Mr. Handsome Cho In-seong hit a three-run homer to tie the game. LG took the lead on an RBI single from shortstop Kwon Yeong-kwan. LG added insurance runs in the fourth and sixth innings thanks to an RBI sac fly from Kwon and a fielding error by Doosan reliever Lee Jae-hak. There was waaaay too much bunting going in this game. It felt like a high school game. Moving on...

Nexen 11, SK 4
W - Geum Min-cheol (6-8), L - Gary Glover (6-4)
Nexen HR - None SK HR - Lee Ho-joon 2(4)

Nexen starter Geum Min-cheol was able to bounce back against the Wyverns after a series of really, really poor outings. Geum threw 7 2/3 innings(110 pitches, 69 strikes) of three run baseball. Geum gave up only six hits(two homers!) and struck out six. SK DH Lee Ho-joon was the only Wyvern that was able to really get to Geum. Lee went 2-3 with a walk, two homers, three RBIs and two runs scored. The Nexen offense absolutely torched poor Gary Glover. Glover was battered for nine runs on seven hits and four walks during his 4 2/3 innings of work. Nexen center fielder Jang Ki-yeong went 2-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored from the lead off spot. Catcher Kang Gui-tae finished 2-4 with three RBIs and one run scored.

KIA 7, Hanhwa 6
W - Ahn Yeong-myeong (5-1), L - Heo Yoo-kang (1-1), S - Yoo Dong-hoon (11)
KIA HR - Kim Sang-hoon (3), Na Ji-wan (6), Choi Hee-seop (13) Hanhwa HR - Song Kwang-min (6), Choi Jin-haeng (19)

KIA is like LG if they had a little pitching and hit homers like a professional team should. Wait. That's nothing like LG. KIA took a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning when struggling DH Na Ji-wan hit a two-run homer. KIA added an insurance run in the seventh on a solo homer from first baseman Choi Hee-seop. Hanhwa rallied in the eighth and made it a one run game after an RBI single from first baseman Jeong Seong-ho. Hanhwa had runners on first and third with one out, but KIA brought in closer Yoo Dong-hoon early and he was able to get out of the jam. Yoo recorded the final five outs for the save.

Lotte 2, Samsung 2 (12)
Lotte HR - Lee Dae-ho (18) Samsung HR - None

I'm not really sure which is more believable. That Lotte's bullpen threw six scoreless innings or that the Giants couldn't hit another homer to break the tie. Lotte DH Hong Seong-heun drove in a run with an single in the first inning and Lee Dae-ho added a solo homer in the fourth to give Lotte a 2-0 lead. Samsung answered back in the sixth inning. The Lions loaded the bases with two outs. Pinch hitter Lee Jeong-sik singled to left to score a pair of runs and tie the game. And so it remained. Lotte was able to threaten, but couldn't break through against a Samsung bullpen that looked fairly shaky.