Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Lotte 6, Doosan 2
W - Song Seung-joon (6-6), L - Lee Yong-chan (3-4)
Lotte HR - None
Doosan HR - None

Lotte starter Song Seung-joon bounced back from a rough start to actually turn in a decent effort. Song threw six innings(102 pitches, 63 strikes) of two-run baseball. Song gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

Lotte broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fifth when Jeon Joon-woo hit a RBI single to center. Lotte added some insurance in the sixth on a RBI sac fly from Hong Seong-heun to push the lead to 4-2. Lotte picked up two more in the eighth when Hong drew a walk with the bases loaded and second baseman Cho Seong-hwan hit a RBI sac fly.

Lotte left fielder Son Ah-seop went 2-3 with a walk, two run scored and a stolen base

Samsung 6, SK 5 (11)
W - Ahn Ji-man (8-3), L - Jeon Byeong-du (3-3), S - Oh Seung-hwan (23)
Samsung HR - None
SK HR - Lee Ho-joon (4)

Samsung was actually trailing for the majority of the game. Facing a 5-2 deficit in the top of the eighth inning, the Lions started a rally. With two outs and runners on first and second, third baseman Park Seok-min singled to cut the lead to 5-3. SK intentionally walked slugger Choi Hyeong-woo to load the bases. Samsung first baseman Cho Yeong-hoon put a bouncer in between SK second baseman Jeong Geun-woo and first baseman Lee Ho-joon. Jeong managed to track the ball down in short right field, but two Samsung runners were able to score to tie the game.

The two teams basically stared at each other until the eleventh inning thanks to some solid relief pitching from both sides. Samsung shortstop Kim Sang-su lead off the inning with a single to left and center fielder Bae Yeong-seop was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. Kim managed to get him picked off at second....by the catcher. He strayed a little too far from the bag and catcher Jeong Sang-ho threw an absolute bullet down to second. Park Han-yi hit a bouncer to second and SK forced Bae at second base for the second out of the inning. Park Seok-min put a single up the middle to move Park Han-yi into scoring position. SK chose not to walk Choi Hyeong-woo this time and the big guy made them pay. Choi laced a double into right/center to score Park and give Samsung a 6-5 lead.

Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan threw a scoreless eleventh to earn the save and end the game.

Park Seok-min had a day at the plate. Park went 4-5 with two walks, a triple, one RBI and three runs scored. SK DH Lee Ho-joon went 2-5 with a double, a homer, three RBIs and a run scored in a losing cause.

SK starter Gary Glover had a weird statline. Glover threw five innings(115 pitches, 64 strikes) of two-run ball. Glover gave up four hits and six walks while striking out eight. Is it safe to say he was effectively wild?

Hanhwa 2, LG 1 (12)
W - Shin Ju-yeong (3-2), L - Choi Seong-min (2-1)
Hanhwa HR - None
LG HR - None

Hanhwa starter Yang Hoon did something I haven't seen done in a long time in any league. He threw ten innings(125 pitches, 85 pitches). Yang allowed only six hits and one walk while striking out seven.

The only problem for Yang was that LG starter Ben Jukich was just as good. Jukich tossed eight shutout innings(123 pitches, 80 strikes). Jukich allowed only six hits and two walks while striking out eight.

LG broke a scoreless tie in the second inning when outfielder Jeong Eui-yoon singled with runners on first and third.

LG maintained their 1-0 lead until the ninth inning. With one out Hanhwa pinch hitter Goh Dong-jin hit a double and scored when the next batter, shortstop Lee Dae-su, hit a double off the right field wall.

Things got a little hot in the ninth inning because Hanhwa pinch hitter Lee Yang-ki tried to lean into a pitch and LG catcher Cho In-seong took offense. Both players needed to be separated by the umpire and benches cleared, but no punches were thrown.

Hanhwa loaded the bases in the tenth, but couldn't capitalize. With one out in the twelfth inning, third baseman Lee Yeo-seong singled and advanced to third on a terrible pick off throw by reliever Choi Seong-min. LG intentionally walked the bases loaded and catcher Lee Hee-geun singled to right to walk off the Twins and end an absolute marathon of a baseball game.

KIA 3, Nexen 1
W - Aquilino Lopez (9-3), L - Ma Jeong-gil (1-3), S - Kim Jin-woo (1)
KIA HR - None
Nexen HR - None

These two teams were tied at one after trading runs in the fifth inning. This one turned into a staring contest and Nexen's bullpen blinked first.

With one out and a runner on second in the seventh inning, KIA outfielder Shin Jong-gil poked a single into right and second baseman Ahn Chi-hong was able to sprint home from second. Shin advanced to second on the throw home. KIA added to their lead later in the inning. KIA put runners on first and second with two outs and backup shortstop Lee Hyeon-gon lifted a base hit over the head of Nexen's shortstop to drive in Shin from second.

Speaking of Lee, he was in the game because KIA's everday shortstop, Kim Seon-bin, suffered a fairly gross injury. Kim tried to catch a line drive off Corey Aldridge's bat with his face in the second inning. Kim avoided serious injury, but he needed to be carted off and appeared to be spitting blood. It was a scary scene until Kim was taken off the field.

Aquilino Lopez threw another great game. Lopez tossed 7 2/3 innings(111 pitches, 69 strikes) of one-run baseball. Lopez allowed only six hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out five.

Nexen starter Brandon Knight didn't get pounded, but he did struggle. Knight threw 4 2/3 innings(106 pitches, 57 strikes) and only gave up one run. Knight surrendered five hits, six walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

No comments: