Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Weekend Roundup: Nexen vs. Samsung

6/25 - Samsung 8, Nexen 5
6/26 - Samsung 8, Nexen 3
6/27 - Samsung 2, Nexen 1


With the sweep of the Heroes over the weekend, the Lions are in sole possession of third place and are currently riding a five-game winning streak. The Lions are three games in back of Doosan for second and 3 1/2 games up on Lotte for fourth.

Nexen starter Adrian Burnside had a tough Friday. First, he was battered for five runs during his 3 2/3 innings pitched. Then, he got himself ejected for arguing balls and strikes. After serving up a three-run homer to Samsung DH Park Seok-min, Burnside lost his cool with the ump. Burnside felt he wasn't getting strikes called on the lower portion of the strike zone. The umpire disagreed and rang up Adrian after a short exchange. After getting tossed, Adrian threw his glove in disgust and continued his tirade while the Heroes coaching staff tried to pull him away. Bae Him-chan relieved Adrian and promptly gave up a solo homer to first baseman Chae Tae-in. Samsung starter Francisco Cruceta bounced back from a couple of rough outings to earn a W. Cruceta tossed six innings(95 pitches, 55 strikes) and allowed three runs. Fast Franky gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out six. Samsung outfielder Oh Jeong-bok has been getting regular PT recently and did a fine job in the lead off spot on Friday. Oh went 1-2 with three walks and three runs scored.

Samsung starter Bae Yeong-su was really mediocre, but the Samsung offense and bullpen were solid. Bae was lifted during the fifth inning due to his pitch count and the Samsung bullpen allowed only four base runners the rest of the way. With the game tied at three in the seventh inning, Samsung second baseman Cho Dong-chan blasted a three-run bomb to give Samsung the lead. First baseman Cho Yeong-hoon added a two-run bomb in the eighth inning to give Samsung a little more insurance.

Samsung swept the series on Sunday thanks to some solid pitching and a timely offense. Samsung starter Cha Woo-chan somehow lasted 6 1/3 innings(95 pitches, 62 strikes) and only gave up one run. I can remember Cha pitching that deep into a game...ever. Cha allowed four hits and three walks while striking out seven. First baseman Cho Yeong-hoon got another start and hit another homer. Cho gave Samsung a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the sixth inning. Samsung added an insurance run on an infield single from DH Chae Tae-in. Chae hit a bouncer into the hole on the right side. Nexen second baseman Kim Min-woo almost made a tough play, but couldn't find the handle. Samsung second baseman Cho Dong-chan was able to sprint from second to home on the play and give Samsung a 2-0 lead. Nexen threatened in the bottom of the seventh and cut the lead in half with a sac fly from center fielder Jang Ki-yeong with the bases loaded. That was the only run Nexen scored and the last time they would threaten.

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