6/8 Roundup and News

LG 3, Hanhwa 0
W - Phil Dumatrait (2-1), L - Ryu Hyeon-jin (8-3), S - Shinya Okamoto (10)
LG HR - None Hanhwa HR - None

Wow, Ryu Hyeon-jin gave up two runs(one earned) over six innings(86 pitches, 57 strikes). Dude got lit up. Ryu allowed eight hits and one walk while striking out three. He looked like he was suffering a bit of a "hangover" from the massive pitch counts that's he's racked up over the past few months. His stuff didn't look nearly as sharp as it did in his previous starts and the LG hitters let him know it. Phil Dumatrait looked competent last night. Dumatrait tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings(101 pitches, 62 strikes) before getting the hook. Phil gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Not much really happened at the plate for either team. LG rallied for two runs in the fourth inning. Center fielder Lee Dae-hyeong started the inning with an infield thanks to a mistake by Hanhwa shortstop Lee Dae-su. Lee advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a base hit by DH Lee Taek-geun. The next batter, left fielder Lee Byeong-gyu, doubled to score Lee and give LG a two-run lead. Shinya Okamoto threw a scoreless ninth inning for the save. The real excitement here was watching LG manager Park Jong-hoon have to be restrained by his entire coaching staff(not an exaggeration) when arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire after a called third strike on left fielder Lee Byeong-gyu. Lee was tossed from the game and Park rushed to defend him. I honestly thought Park would take a swing at the ump.

Lotte 2, Nexen 2 (12)
Lotte HR - None Nexen HR - None

I really can't believe how many zeroes these two bullpens were able to put up. The 11 relievers used in this game combined to give up exactly one run. Nexen closer Son Seung-rak threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings, gave up two hits and struck out two. I'd like to say this game featured a pair of dominating efforts from the starting pitchers, but I can't. Both were fairly mediocre and were let off the hook by the opposing offense on multiple occasions. Nexen starter Adrian Burnside tossed 6 1/3 innings(115 pitches, 68 strikes) of two-run baseball. He allowed five hits, four walks and two hit batsmen while striking out five. He also delivered about a half dozen gratuitous fist pumps. Lotte starter Cho Jeong-hoon threw six innings(90 pitches, 49 strikes) of one-run ball. He allowed five hits and three walks while striking out three. This was a big bounceback start for Cho. The press was starting to speculate that he had a hidden injury. He looked healthy enough last night.

SK 5, Samsung 2
W - Lee Seung-ho (1-0), L - Brandon Knight (5-4), S - Jeong Dae-hyeon (2)
SK HR - Kim Kang-min (5) Samsung HR - None

Wow. The Lions really need a win. The Lions losing streak has swelled to six games after last night's game. Samsung was starting to get to SK starter Song Eun-beom, but SK manager Kim Seong-geun gave him the hook and the Lions couldn't accomplish anything against the SK bullpen. SK center fielder Kim Kang-min essentially was the SK offense last night. Kim put SK on the board with a two-run single in the second inning. Then in the eighth inning, Kim clubbed a two-run homer. Kim finished the evening 3-4 with four RBIs and one run scored. SK reliever Jeong Dae-hyeon recorded the final five outs for the save.

KIA 2, Doosan 1
W - Ahn Yeong-myeong (4-1), L - Goh Chang-seong (2-2)
KIA HR - None Doosan HR - None

KIA starter Yang Hyeon-jong was, erm, effectively wild. Yang threw seven innings(123 pitches, 71 strikes) of one-run ball. Yang gave up six hits and seven(!) walks while striking out six. Any other pitcher and the Doosan offense makes him pay for all those walks. The game was tied at one in the bottom of the ninth and appeared to be headed for extras, but the KIA offense started a rally. KIA shortstop Kim Seon-bin started the inning with a lead off walk. Kim advanced to second on a sac bunt from third baseman Park Ki-nam. The next batter, center fielder Lee Yong-gyu, hit a base hit off the center field wall and Kim was able to crawl to the plate. Lee's teammates chased him into left field trying to hit him and douse him with water.