6/30 Roundup and News

Nexen 7, LG 3
W - Park Joon-su (1-1), L - Kim Kwang-su (2-1), S - Son Seung-rak (13)
Nexen HR - Jang Yeong-seok (1) LG HR - None

Ugh. I really hate recapping LG games. The games are always disjointed and hard to write about.

Both starters were fairly mediocre. LG ace Bong Jung-geun tossed 5 1/3 innings(118 pitches, 65 strikes), but he gave up three runs. Bong was knocked around for eight hits and allowed four walks and one hit batsman. Somehow, he struck out two. Nexen broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning when DH Song Ji-man hit a sac fly with the bases loaded. Nexen added another run later in the inning when first baseman Jeong Yeong-seok singled with runners on the corners and two outs. Jeong finished 3-4 with a homer, three RBIs and a run scored. Nexen tacked on a couple late insurance runs and closer Son Seung-rak record the final five outs for the save.

Doosan 1, Hanhwa 0
W - Kelvin Jiminez (9-3), L - Julio DePaula (2-8), S - Lee Yong-chan (17)
Doosan HR - None Hanhwa HR - None

This has to be a tough one to swallow for Hanhwa fans. In the sixth inning, Doosan second baseman Goh Yeong-min doubled to lead off the inning. He was sacrificed to third by center fielder Lee Jong-wook. Doosan first baseman Oh Jae-won hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Oh Sun-jin. Oh tossed the ball underhand to first for the force out. While he was throwing, Goh made a break for home. The throw was not only a few seconds late to the plate, but it was wide of the mark as well. Goh slid in safely for Doosan's first and only run of the game. Doosan starter Kelvin Jiminez threw eight innings(97 pitches, 64 strikes) of shutout baseball. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four. Doosan closer Lee Yong-chan threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save. Julio DePaula was the toughluck loser in every sense of the word. DePaula tossed 7 1/3 innings(104 pitches, 59 strikes) of one-run baseball. DePaula gave up two hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out four.

Samsung 4, Lotte 3
W - Jeong In-wook (1-1), L - Lim Kyeong-won (1-3)
Samsung HR - Cho Dong-chan (5) Lotte HR - Kim Min-seong (1), Lee Dae-ho (22), Hong Seong-heun (19)

Speaking of tough losses. I believe this one also qualifies as a tough loss for Samsung fans. Mr. Clutch, Hong Seong-heun, hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at three. The only problem is that in the bottom of the ninth Lotte closer Lim Kyeong-won gave up a walk-off, solo homer to Samsung third baseman Cho Dong-chan to end the game and give Samsung a 4-3 win. Cho finished the game 2-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Lotte's Ryan Sadowski took the mound for the first time in ten days and actually threw pretty well. Sadowski gave up three runs on seven hits and one walk during his six innings(107 pitches, 68 strikes) of work. He managed to strike out six Lions before giving way to the Lotte Arson Squad.

SK 10, KIA 5 (11)
W - Lee Seung-ho (4-0), L - Son Yeong-min (1-4)
SK HR - None KIA HR - Na Ji-wan (8)

The game was tied at five after nine innings and SK beat the tar out of KIA reliever Son Yeong-min in the eleventh inning. Son threw 1 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batsman. Actually, the KIA bullpen was fairly awful in this game. Aquilino Lopez was tossing chairs around the dugout after he was lifted from the game and I don't really blame him. Lopez has struggled this year. It has to be difficult for him to throw well and get stuck with an ND on his record. Lopez tossed seven innings(104 pitches, 70 strikes) of two-run baseball. Lopez gave up eight hits and one hit batsman while striking out three. SK was facing a 5-2 deficit in the eighth inning when Cho Dong-hwa managed an infield single with the bases loaded to cut the lead to 5-3. Cho entered the game as a defensive replacement and ended up 2-3 with a walk, a double, four RBI and one run scored. His double in the eleventh was the knockout blow. Second baseman Jeong Geun-woo poked a single through the left side to score a pair of runs and tie the game at five. Tied is wear it remained until the eleventh inning.