Nexen 4, Hanhwa 1
W - Brandon Knight (2-6), Yang Hoon (1-5), S - Son Seung-rak (3)
Nexen HR - Corey Aldridge (6) Hanhwa HR - None
Nexen managed to give starter Brandon Knight just enough offense to beat the Eagles.
Knight threw 7 2/3 innings(117 pitches, 66 strikes) of one-run baseball. Knight gave up five hits and two walks while striking out five.
Nexen only used closer Son Seung-rak to get the final four outs. This proved to be a wise decision because Son managed to get all four outs without giving up any runs. Hooray for small miracles.
Nexen broke a scoreless tie in the second inning when Hanhwa catcher Lee Hui-geun committed a two-base error and Nexen DH Kang Byeong-sik hit a RBI ground out. Corey Aldridge extended the lead with a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Hanhwa struggled to get any offense going against Knight. The game was over when the ball left Aldridge's bat.
KIA 4, SK 1
W - Yang Hyeon-jong (6-4), L - Song Eun-beom (3-1)
KIA HR - Lee Beom-ho (11), Kim Sang-hyeon (6) SK HR - None
KIA broke a scoreless tie when third baseman Lee Beom-ho hit a solo homer in the fourth inning. Lee would finish 1-1 with three walks and three runs scored.
KIA plated a second run in the sixth with a RBI single from left fielder Kim Sang-hyeon.
Kim also hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, but was forced from the game in the ninth inning. Kim made a leaping catch at the wall, but landed awkwardly on his spine. He left under his own power, but appeared to be in some discomfort. Kim went 3-4 with a homer, three RBIs and a run scored.
KIA starter Yang Hyeon-jong threw five shutout innings(86 pitches, 52 strikes). It was a surprise that Yang didn't come out for the sixth inning, but given his recent struggles(5.50 ERA, 1.61 WHIP), it was probably a good idea. Yang allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out seven.
SK third baseman Choi Jeong went 3-3 with a walk in a losing effort.
LG 7, Lotte 5
W - Kim Seon-gyu (3-0), L - Goh Won-joon (2-3), S - Lim Chan-gyu (3)
LG HR - Kim Tae-wan (1), Lee Byeong-gyu (10) Lotte HR - Kang Min-ho (7), Hwang Jae-gyun 2(4)
Why Brian Corey was left out for 2 2/3 innings(and 49! pitches), I'll never understand. It could be that Lotte simply doesn't trust the rest of their bullpen or it could be that the Lotte brain trust actually wants to see a pitchers' elbow ligaments jump out of a his arm.
Corey came in to relieve starter Goh Won-joon after go served up a two-run homer to left fielder Lee Byeong-gyu. Lee's homer gave LG a 5-4 lead. Corey finished the seventh in fairly short order. Then he finished the eighth in short order. He was left out there to pitch the ninth and the game got away from the Giants.
Corey gave up a RBI single to third baseman Jeong Seong-ho, loaded the bases and walked in a run to push the LG lead to 7-4. Hwang Jae-gyun hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 7-5. Lotte put runners on second and third with two outs, but left fielder Hwang Seong-yong flew out to end the game.
LG left fielder Lee Byeong-gyu is having a season. Lee's average dropped to .380 after he went 1-5 with a two-run homer. Lee's OPS is 1.046. That's a great year in any league.
Lotte third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun is starting to turn around a disappointing year. Hwang went 2-4 with a two-run homer and solo homer.
Doosan 4, Samsung 3
W - Lee Yong-chan (2-3), L - Jang Won-sam (2-2), S - Kim Sun-woo (1)
Doosan HR - Yoon Seok-min (1), Kim Dong-ju (6) Samsung HR - Cho Yeong-hoon (2)
This was a strangely managed game for Doosan. Doosan starter Lee Yong-chan threw six innings(90 pitches, 55 strikes) of two-run baseball(both unearned). Lee was lifted in the seventh inning for Kim Sun-woo. Kim has been a starter the majority of his KBO career and is in the middle of his best KBO season. Kim inherited a bases loaded situation and gave up both runs before recording the final out of the inning. Kim was left out there for both the eighth and ninth innings and actually recorded his first career save.
Doosan broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run homer from little-used infielder Yoon Seok-min(not the KIA ace). Slugger Kim Dong-ju added a solo homer in the fifth and Yoon hit an RBI single in the seventh. Yoon finished 3-4 with three RBIs and a run scored.
3 comments:
Im Chan-gyu is a very good surprise... Sometimes shaky, but still manages get the job done under pressure most of the time, even though he's only 19. Could be a good closer for LG this year.
The concerns with Chan-gyu is that he walks too many (5.79 BB/9), strikes out too few (6.06 K/9) and doesn't keep the ball on the ground (0.68 GB/FB ratio). His batting average on balls in play is also really, really low(.188), which means he's been helped out a lot by his defense. He could develop into a solid closer, but I'd be impressed if he held on to the job for the rest of the year.
Agree, his performance is far from stellar, but his chance is that there's no better relief pitcher at LG (am I forgetting someone?)
I don't have all those stats for former LG closers but don't think it was way prettier than that, and they weren't 19 =)
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