JAPAN – Shinnosuke Abe sparked a late seven-run uprising with a three-run homer and the Yomiuri Giants blasted the Kia Tigers 9-4 in the first Japan-Korea Club Championship this past Saturday night at Big N Stadium in Nagasaki.

The Korean Series champion Tigers, playing without four key members, tagged Yomiuri starter Dicky Gonzalez with a run in the opening frame on an RBI base hit by Na Ji Won. Kia stretched the lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Na stroked a two-run single off reliever Tetsuya Utsumi.

Meanwhile, Kia’s young starter Yang Hyun-jong (pictured) stymied the big-budget batting lineup of the Japan Series champion. The 21-year-old southpaw limited the Giants to a lone score – a solo shot by Michihiro Ogasawara in the sixth – over 5 2/3 innings while racking up six strikeouts.

Yomiuri torched the Tigers bullpen for seven runs in a decisive seventh. Abe, who captured the Japan Series MVP Award, put the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) club on top, 4-3, with a three-run blast off Kwak Jung-chul. RBI hits by Alex Ramirez, Yoshiyuki Kamei and Takahito Kudo sealed the win and the winning prize of 20 million yen.

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) club received 5 million yen in prize money.

Takahiko Nomaguchi picked up the win out of the bullpen, while Wilfin Obispo earned the save after scattering one run over three innings.

The inaugural Japan-Korea Club Championship replaced the money-losing Asian Series this year. However, the professional leagues in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China are hoping to resume the Asian Series in 2010.

Photo courtesy of Koreabaseball.blogspot.com

Tags: Japan, South Korea