6/2 Roundup and News

Nexen 7, Doosan 1
W - Adrian Burnside (5-5), L - Kelvin Jimenez (7-3)
Nexen HR - Kang Jeong-ho (8) Doosan HR - None

Nexen's pitching staff really stepped up for this game. Starter Adrian Burnside delivered a quality start and four relievers combined to shut the Bears out for 3 1/3 innings. Burnside tossed 5 2/3 innings(110 pitches, 59 strikes) of one-run baseball. Burnside allowed six hits and three walks while striking out four. Nexen shortstop Kang Jeong-ho did most of the damage at the plate for the Heroes. Kang clubbed a two-run homer in the second inning. Kang added a few more hits and RBIs to his total. He finished 3-4 with four RBIs and a run scored. Nexen center fielder Doug Clark enjoyed a solid evening. Clark went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

SK 2, Hanhwa 1
W - Song Eun-beom (5-3), L - Julio DePaula (2-5), S - Jeong Dae-hyeon (1)
SK HR - None Hanhwa HR - Song Kwang-min (4)

Julio DePaula deserved better than this. Not much better, but better than a loss. DePaula limited the SK Wyverns to two hits and three hit batsmen during his seven innings of work(105 pitches, 65 strikes). In the seventh inning, DePaula hit SK catcher Park Kyeong-wan in the hip. The next batter, SK shortstop Na Ju-hwan, singled to center. The Hanhwa defense turned the relay throws into a circus and Park was able to crawl to the plate. Infielder Choi Yoon-shik tried to catch Na advancing to second, but threw the ball into right field. Na was able to score on an infield single by center fielder Cho Dong-hwa. SK starter Song Eun-beom threw seven shutout innings(125 pitches, 71 strikes). Song allowed three hits and six walks while striking out five.

KIA 2, Samsung 0
W - Yang Hyeon-jong (9-1), L - Brandon Knight (5-3)
KIA HR - None Samsung - None

KIA starter Yang Hyeong-jong wanted to remind everyone that Ryu Hyeon-jin isn't the only ace in the KBO. While Yang isn't on the same level as Ryu, I think he at least gets a mention in the discussion about the top starters in the KBO. Yang threw a complete game shutout(129 pitches, 83 strikes) against the Lions. Yang allowed only four hits and two walks while striking out nine. KIA catcher Cha Il-mok drove in both of the KIA runs with RBI singles in the sixth and eighth innings. KIA first baseman Choi Hee-seop had an interesting night at the plate. Choi went 1-1 with three walks and a run scored. I have nothing more to say about this game that is either interesting or true.

LG 9, Lotte 6
W - Phil Dumatrait (1-1), L - Cho Jeong-hoon (5-2)
LG HR - None Lotte HR - None

Phil Dumatrait, erm, earned his first W of his short KBO career. Dumatrait tossed five innings(102 pitches, 58 strikes) and allowed five runs. Phil gave up seven hits and four walks while striking out four. How did Dumatrait win this game, you ask? Well, Cho Jeong-hoon and the Lotte bullpen was worse. Much worse. I'm not going to go through the blow-by-blow of this game because it was too long and too ugly. This was your typical four-hour KBO grindfest and it's exactly the kind of game I loathe watching. This was the Lee Byeong-gyu show for LG. Lee the left fielder went 2-4 with a walk and three runs scored, while Lee the right fielder went 2-4 with a walk, four RBIs and a run scored. LG shortstop Oh Ji-hwan went 3-5 with three RBIs. Lotte catcher Kang Min-ho was the tallest midget for the Giants. Kang went 2-3 with two walks, one RBI and one run scored.