Tuesday, July 19, 2011

7/17 Roundup and News

We actually got in all four games in the same day. Unbelievable.

Nexen 3, Doosan 2
W - Brandon Knight (3-9), L - Lee Yong-chan (3-5), S - Son Seung-rak (7)
Nexen HR - None
Doosan HR - None

Nexen starter Brandon Knight was solid in this one, while the Heroes gave him just enough offense to earn the W. Knight tossed 5 2/3 innings(85 pitches, 57 strikes) of two-run baseball. Knight gave up seven hits and one walk while striking out five.

Nexen pushed across runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to give their pitching juuuuust enough support to beat the struggling Doosan Bears. Left fielder Corey Aldridge went 2-4 with two RBIs.

Bears catcher Yang Eui-ji lead the Doosan offense by going 3-4 with a RBI.

Hanhwa 5, SK 0
W - Yang Hoon (3-7), L - Brian Gordon (0-1)
Hanhwa HR - None
SK HR - None

Hanhwa starter Yang Hoon looked like a professional starter on Sunday. Yang tossed eight innings(122 pitches, 76 strikes) of scoreless baseball. Yang gave up only five hits and one walk while striking out six.

Yang has been one of the more inconsistent young pitchers in the KBO for his entire career. He looked like he found a niche as the Eagles closer last year, but he was shoved into the rotation this season and his results have varied from frighteningly bad to reasonably competent. He's still only 25 years old and doesn't have a ton of mileage on his arm like most of the younger KBO pitchers. He could still develop into something special for Hanhwa.

Hanhwa did most of their damage during a four-run rally in the fourth inning. Catcher Shin Kyeong-hyeon lead the Eagles' offense by going 2-2 with two walks and a RBI. Karim Garcia went 1-4 with a double and a run scored.

SK starter Brian Gordon made his KBO debut and it was fairly forgettable. The former Yankees farmhand tossed four innings(63 pitches, 40 strikes) and gave up four runs. Gordon allowed three hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out one.

KIA 4, Samsung 2
W - Shin Dong-seop (3-0), L - Bae Yeong-su (5-5), S - Han Ki-ju (1)
KIA HR - None
Samsung HR - None

KIA's 4-2 win over Samsung put the Tigers in sole possession of first place in the KBO. This game also marked reliever Han Ki-ju's first save in over a year. Han was once considered the next great Korean reliever, but arm troubles sidetracked his once promising career. It used to be pedestrian to see him rack up a save, but now it's an event. Han is still only 24 years old and there's no reason he can't have a long and fulfilling career. Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan was written off as recently as last year due to nagging injuries and now he looks better than ever.

KIA and Samsung traded runs in the early innings. The Tigers broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a two-run rally. KIA loaded the bases with two outs and scored a pair of runs on a single from shortstop Lee Hyeon-gon.

Samsung picked up a run in the fifth inning in a bizarre sequence. Catcher Hyeon Jae-yoon walked and advanced to third on a very wild pitch. Hyeon scored when second baseman Shin Myeong-cheol hit a bouncer to short. Lee Hyeon-gon picked the ball cleanly and fired to first, but first baseman Choi Hee-seop fell asleep after catching the ball and Hyeon scampered home while Choi clutched the ball.

KIA added some insurance in the eighth inning on a RBI single from catcher Cha Il-mok.

Han Ki-ju threw three innings of perfect relief to earn his first save in over a year. It was an emotional scene on the mound as he high-fived his teammates after a save for the first time in a long time.

LG 4, Lotte 0
W - Radhames Liz (8-7), L - Song Seung-joon (7-7)
LG HR - None
Lotte HR - None

Lotte was riding a four-game winning streak heading into this one, but sadly they ran into the buzzsaw that is Radhames Liz. Liz threw seven shutout innings(106 pitches, 75 strikes) for the Twins in this one. Liz gave up only three hits and a hit batsman while striking out six.

Lotte starter Song Seung-joon wasn't the problem on Sunday. Song tossed seven innings(115 pitches. 73 strikes) of three-run ball. He gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out four. Song was more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde and did a good job of keeping the Giants in the game will Liz shut them down.

LG rallied for three runs in the third inning and the game was basically over. Third baseman Jeong Seong-hoon went 2-3 with a double, a run scored and a RBI. Slugger Lee Byeong-gyu was 1-3 with a walk and a RBI double.

1 comment:

Simon said...

all 4 games in today too. SK is tanking.