7/9 Roundup and News

Brian Corey has been given his release by the Lotte Giants and it sounds like pitcher Chris Bootcheck will be headed to Korea to replace him. Thanks to Eric at Baseball Journeyman for giving me a heads up.

Samsung/Doosan was washed out thanks to some nasty weather in Daegu.

LG 4, KIA 3
W - Park Hyeon-joon (10-5), L - Yang Hyeon-jong (6-6), S - Lim Chan-gyu (6)
LG HR - Cho In-seong(13), Jeong Seong-hoon (7)
KIA HR - Kim Won-seop (2)

KIA started the scoring in the top of the first with a RBI single from second baseman Ahn Chi-hong, but LG scored three runs in the first inning on a three-run blast by catcher Cho In-seong. LG added another run in the second inning on a solo homer from third baseman Jeong Seong-hoon.

KIA got two runs back when left fielder Kim Won-seop clubbed a two-run bomb in the fourth inning, but that was as close as KIA would get.

LG starter Park Hyeon-joon wasn't especially overpowering, but he managed to get the W. Park threw six innings(88 pitches, 59 strikes) and gave up all three KIA runs. Park allowed six hits and two walks while striking out three.

KIA reliever Son Yeong-min did his best to keep the Tigers in the game. Son threw 4 2/3 innings of relief after starter Yang Hyeon-jong was chased from the game in the second inning. Son gave up only one walk and one hit batsman while striking out three.

SK 2, Lotte 1
W - Song Eun-beom (5-2), L - Goh Won-joon (4-5), S - Jeong Dae-hyeon (11)
SK HR - None
Lotte HR - None

SK is having no luck with ace Kim Kwang-hyeon, but journey men like Eom Jeong-wook? They're always good for a quality start. Eom tossed 5 2/3 innings(95 pitches, 58 strikes) of one-run baseball. Eom allowed three hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out seven(!).

SK broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when catcher Jeong Sang-ho hit a single with a runners one first and third with no outs. Sadly, for SK, first baseman Lee Ho-joon was thrown out trying to advance from first to third. Lee was out by fifteen feet and had to do the embarrassing slow down from a full "sprint" to a walk and then got tagged.

Lotte tied the game in the sixth inning when Eom started to tire and get in trouble. Lotte catcher Kang Min-ho hit an RBI single and Eom's evening was over.

SK reliever Song Eun-beom recorded a ground out to get out of the jam and threw two more innings of scoreless baseball.

SK broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth when Lee Ho-joon hit a sac fly with runners on the corners and one out.

SK closer Jeong Dae-hyeon threw a perfect ninth to earn the save.

Lost in this one was a brilliant effort from Lotte starter Goh Won-joon. Goh threw eight innings(107 pitches, 68 strikes) of two-run ball. Goh gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out two.

Hanhwa 7, Nexen 5
W - Ahn Seung-min (3-5), L - Moon Seong-hyeon (3-6), S - Denny Bautista (1)
Hanhwa HR - None
Nexen HR - Kang Jeong-ho 2(6)

Nexen shortstop Kang Jeong-ho accounted for almost everything the Heroes did offensively. Kang clubbed a solo homer in the fourth inning and blasted a three-run bomb in the eighth to make the score look a little more respectable than 7-1. Kang went 2-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs.

Thanks to Kang's mighty blast in the eighth inning, Hanhwa fans were able to see Denny Bautista earn his first KBO save. Bautista needed only ten pitches(8 strikes) to throw a perfect ninth inning. Bautista struck out two batters during his short debut.

The Hanhwa offense absolutely clobbered Nexen starter Moon Seong-hyeon. Moon was chased from the game in the second inning and the guy they brought in to bail him out didn't do much better as Hanhwa scored all seven of its runs by the third inning.

Hanhwa catcher Park Noh-min went 1-4 with one run scored, three RBIs and a stolen base. Second baseman Han Sang-hoon went 2-5 with a double and two RBIs.

Hanhwa starter Ahn Seung-min enjoyed the early run support and managed not to choke the game away. Ahn threw six innings(91 pitches, 59 strikes) of two-run baseball. Ahn allowed eight hits and struck out only one.