5/4 Roundup and News

SK 7, Hanhwa 4
W - Lee Seung-ho (2-1), L - Yang Hoon (0-2), S - Jeong Woo-ram (3)
SK HR - Choi Jeong(3), Lee Ho-joon(2) Hanhwa HR - Choi Jin-haeng 2(5)

Hanhwa left fielder Choi Jin-haeng basically was the Eagles' offense. He went 2-5 and blasted a solo homer and a two-run homer.

SK rallied for four runs in the first inning thanks to a two-run single from first baseman Park Jeong-kwon and a two-run blast by third baseman Choi Jeong.

SK picked up a few insurance runs late and the SK bullpen shut down any chance of a Hanhwa comeback.

SK reliever Jeon Byeong-doo threw 3 1/3 innings of relief after starter Song Eun-beom couldn't stop giving up homers to Choi Jin-haeng. Jeong Woo-ram recorded the final out for the vulture save.

SK right fielder Lim Hoon went 2-4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Second baseman Jeong Geum-woo went 0-1 with four walks and a run scored.

KIA 6, Nexen 1
W - Yoon Seok-min (2-1), L - Geum Min-cheol (2-3)
KIA HR - Kim Sang-hyeon (3) Nexen HR - None

This game was all about KIA starting pitcher Yoon Seok-min dominating. Yoon threw eight innings(117 pitches, 79 strikes) of one-run(unearned) baseball. Yoon gave up only two hits, one walk and one hit batsman while striking out eight.

KIA rallied for four runs in the third inning. Third baseman Lee Beom-ho hit an RBI single and left fielder Kim Sang-hyeon blasted a three-run homer. KIA picked up a few late insurance runs and rode Yoon's strong effort to a W.

Lee Beom-ho went 2-3 with two walks, one RBI and two runs scored.

Lotte 6, Samsung 4
W - Goh Hyo-joon (1-1), L - Yoon Seong-hwan (2-2), S - Kim Sa-yul (1)
Lotte HR - None Samsung HR - Choi Hyeong-woo (5)

Lotte pitcher Goh Won-joon made his first start of the 2011 season on Wednesday night. Goh had been used primarily as a closer, but with the struggles of the Lotte rotation, Goh was pressed into starting.

Goh threw the ball pretty well for a guy that hadn't started since last year. Goh stuck around for five innings(87 pitches, 57 strikes) and gave up three runs. Goh allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six.

The Lotte offense gave Goh some help by knocking Samsung starter Yoon Seong-hwan out of the game in the middle of the fifth inning. Lotte tagged Yoon for five runs.

Lotte Third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun lead the Lotte offense. Hwang went 3-4 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored including a two-run single in the fourth inning. Center fielder Jeon Jun-woo chipped in with a 2-4, one walk, one double, two RBI, one run scored effort.

Lotte got into a bit of trouble in the sixth inning when Heo Joon-hyeok was brought in to relieve Goh. Heo walked a batter and was pulled immeadiately. Reliever Lim Kyeong-wan came in and gave up a run that was charged to Heo. After that, the bullpen locked the game down and Kim Sa-yul recorded a clean save. Brian Corey threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

I don't really see the purpose in starting Goh and using Corey in the pen, but I'm not paid to run a baseball team.

Doosan 5, LG 4
W - Noh Kyeong-eun (1-0), L - Kim Kwang-su (1-2)
Doosan HR - None LG HR - Lee Byeong-gyu 2(4)

The scoreboard should have read "Doosan 5, Lee Byeong-gyu 4" because Lee hit a pair of two-run homers late to make this game awfully exciting in the late innings. Lee's second homer came in the top of the ninth inning and gave LG a 4-3 lead.

Doosan answered in the bottom of the ninth with a rally of their own.

Pinch hitter Kim Jae-hwan lead off with a single. Right fielder Jeong Su-bin tried to sacrifice Kim to second, but he wound up with a bunt single. Second baseman Goh Yeong-min grounded out to second, but advanced both runners to scoring position. Left fielder Kim Hyeon-su was intentionally walked to load the bases and DH Kim Dong-ju was walked unintentionally to tie the game at four. First baseman Choi Joon-seok hit a walk-off sac fly to give Doosan a 5-4 lead and end the game.

Lost in the late inning heroics were a pair of solid efforts from LG and Doosan's non-Korean starters.

Doosan's Dustin Nippert threw 7 1/3 innings(114 pitches, 75 strikes) of two-run baseball. Nippert gave up two hits and two walks while striking out eight.

LG starter Ben Jukich threw 6 1/3 innings(96 pitches, 59 strikes) of two-run baseball. Big Ben surrendered six hits and two walks while striking out four.