6/8 Roundup and News

KIA 6, Doosan 2
W - Aquilino Lopez (6-2), L - Fernando Nieve (0-2)
KIA HR - None
Doosan HR - Kim Jae-hwan (2)

Aquilino Lopez probably won't make a run at Danny Rios' historic(steroid aided) 2006 season, but his 2011 season will be one of the more memorable efforts turned in by a non-Korean pitcher in te KBO. Lopez threw seven innings(109 pitches, 72 strikes) of two-run baseball. Lopez gave up six hits and one walk while striking out one. Lopez recording 11 outs via the ground ball.

KIA jumped on Doosan starter Fernando Nieve in the second inning and never looked back. KIA rallied for four runs. The Tigers broke a scoreless tie when Nieve uncorked a wild pitch with a runner on second. The runner was able to slide in safely at home before Doosan could locate the baseball. KIA picked up two more runs on a two-run triple from shortstop Kim Seon-bin. Kim would later score on a single by KIA third baseman Lee Beom-ho.

If it weren't for a two-run homer by pinch hitter Kim Jae-hwan in the second inning, the Bears likely would have been shut out. What's going on with this team?

Samsung 12, Lotte 4
W - Jeong In-wook (2-1), L - Goh Won-joon (2-4)
Samsung HR - Park Seok-min (6)
Lotte HR - None

Will someone let the Lotte Giants know that they should show up for this series? Dropping two games to one of the teams ahead of them in the standings is not a good way to get back into the playoff race.

Samsung scored seven runs in the first three innings and cruised to an easy W.

Samsung right fielder Park Han-yi went 5-5(all singles) with a RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Park Seok-min went 2-5 with a homer, one run scored and two RBIs. First baseman Cho Yeong-hoon went 3-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Samsung starter Jeong In-wook turned in another quality start against Lotte. He's made four starts this year. Three have come against Lotte and all three were quality starts. Samsung might've noticed something in Jeong's makeup that makes him successful against Lotte. Jeong threw seven innings(109 pitches, 72 strikes) of two-run baseball. Jeong gave up six hits and two walks while striking out seven.

SK 4, Nexen 1
W - Goh Hyo-joon (1-4), L - Lee Jeong-hoon (2-2)
SK HR - Lee Ho-joon (3)
Nexen HR - None

Nexen broke a scoreless tie in the third when center fielder Yoo Han-joon drew a bases loaded walk.

SK tied the game in the top of the fourth when Lee Ho-joon hit a solo homer. The Wyverns took the lead in the seven with a two-run rally. Left fielder Park Jae-sang hit a RBI single and third baseman Choi Jeong hit a RBI double to push the lead to 3-1. SK added an insurance run in the eighth with a RBI sac fly from center fielder Kim Kang-min.

Normally, when a team gives up only one run, there's a quality start. Not so much here. SK starter Song Eun-beom was yanked with one out in the third inning. He walked four batters and needed to sit down. SK reliever Goh Hyo-joon threw 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief work. Goh gave up three hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out six.

Nexen starter Brandon Knight took a tough luck ND. Knight threw six innings(107 pitches, 60 strikes) of one-run ball. Knight gave up seven hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out seven.

LG 6, Hanhwa 5
W - Lim Chan-gyu (6-1), L - Shin Ju-yeong (1-1)
LG HR - None
Hanhwa HR - None

This one got a little weird in the late innings. Hanhwa tied the game at five with a three-run rally in the top of the eighth. Hanhwa catcher Shin Kyeong-hyeon, third baseman Lee Yeo-sang and second baseman Han Sang-hoon each hit RBI singles during the rally. That wasn't the weird part.

LG untied the game in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, LG first baseman Seo Dong-wook singled to left was removed for a pinch runner. Pinch runner Jeong Ju-hyeon stole second to get into scoring position. Second baseman Kim Tae-won hit a line drive directly at left fielder Choi Jin-haeng. Choi couldn't catch the ball, but he was able to knock it down and keep it in front of him. The play resulted in runners on the corners with one out. Center fielder Lee Taek-geun hit a comebacker to the pitcher. Hanhwa was able to get the force out at second, but shortsop Lee Dae-su bobbled the ball and couldn't get the double play. The go-ahead run was able to score.

In the top of the ninth, Hanhwa first baseman Jang Seong-ho singled and advanced to third thanks to a fly ball and a wild pitch. For some reason, with two outs and Jang still stranded on third Hanhwa chose to attempt a straight steal of home. Jang was tagged out at the plate to end the game. While the Twins were high fiving on the mound, Hanhwa manager Han Dae-hwa was chewing out the umpire. Manager Han felt the tag wasn't applied in time and was able to really get in the umpire's face because he knew he couldn't be tossed from the game. The umpires had a small conference before walking off the field. My guess is they wanted to pretend to discuss the call while they decided on a postgame restaurant.