SOUTH KOREA – Cliff Brumbaugh clubbed a pair of home runs and Seoul relievers combined to throw seven shutout innings to help the Heroes stop SK Wyverns 7-4 in a rare Monday matchup in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Wyverns, the two-time defending league champion, won both games (7-1 and 4-3) this weekend after Friday’s ballgame was rained out.

Both starting pitchers made early exits with Seoul’s Jeon Joon-ho surrendering four runs in just two innings of work, while SK starter Goh Hyo-joon was chased in the fourth.

Brumbaugh teed off on Goh for a two-run drive in the opening frame, and tagged reliever Kim Won-hyeong in the fifth for a three-run shot to break a 4-4 deadlock.

Meanwhile, the Heroes bullpen tossed seven shutout innings with Lee Dong-hak (1-0) picking up his first win of the season. Closer Hwang Doo-seong registering the final three outs to earn his fifth save.

Kim (0-2) suffered his second setback after allowing the game-winning home run.

SK outfielder Park Jae-sang finished 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.

DOOSAN BEARS CLIPS HANWHA EAGLES
Another rescheduled game because of last weekend’s rainouts between the Doosan Bears and the Hanwha Eagles was postponed, again, due to wet weather.

Doosan second baseman Goh Yeong-min smacked a three-run homer to help the Bears claim a 6-2 win last Sunday after rain washed out the fist two games of the weekend series.

The Bears first baseman Choi Joon-seok drove in two runs to chase Hanwha starter Yoo Won-sang early, and Doosan starter Kim Sun-woo recovered fom a shaky start to get the win. Reliever Yim Tae-hoon, who struck out five in a pair of dominant innings, combined with two relievers to blank Hanwha the final four frames.

KIA TIGERS REBOUNDS TO TAME SAMSUNG LIONS
The Samsung Lions opened the three-game set with a narrow 6-5 win on Friday night on a game-winning two-run homer off the bat of catcher Jin Kab-yong in the eighth. Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his league-leading sixth save.

KIA won the second encounter on Saturday 2-1 in a low-scoring affair in which the Tigers managed only two hits but reached base nine times on walks. The Tigers opened the scoring in the first on an RBI sacrifice fly but the Lions came alongside in the eighth when Shin Myeong-cheol sprinted home from third on a passed ball. However, KIA shortstop Lee Hyeon-gon RBI single through the left side plated Ahn Chi-hong with the winning score an inning later.

The Tigers won the rubber match in convincing fashion Sunday with a 10-2 rout over the Lions. KIA’s Na Ji-hwan hit a solo homer off Samsung starter Ahn Ji-man in the first, and Kim Sang-hyeon hit a grand slam in the third to give KIA a 6-0 lead.
Rick Guttormson allowed one run and six hits over seven innings to notch the easy win.

LOTTE GIANTS FALL TO LG TWINS
The LG Twins opened the series with a pair of one-run victories before the Lotte Giants denied the sweep with a win in the weekend finale.

The Twins claimed a 7-6 win in the opener on Friday night with Roberto Petagine going deep in the sixth, and followed the next day with a 10-9 victory. LG left fielder Park Yong-taek put together a solid day at the plate finishing 3-for-6 with a homer, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. LG DH Choi Dong-soo helped the Twins cause with three RBIs.

The Giants foiled the sweep with a 5-3 win in Sunay’s finale. Lotter starter Jang Won-joon scattered two runs and five hits over seven innings to get the win. Lee Dae-ho hit a two-run bomb in the seventh and Jon Adkins allowed his first run of the season but still managed to register the save.

Photo courtesy of koreabaseball.blogspot.com

Tags: South Korea