Thursday provided the potential for the KBO to set a league record with nine games on tap. However, weather had other ideas resulting in the scheduled Kia at Lotte doubleheader being rained out. Both games will be made up in September per league rules banning double dips in July or August due to high temperature concerns leading to fatigue issues. As for the other seven games, three double headers finished with two splits along with Kiwoom extending its win streak to eight in grand fashion sweeping the LG Twins on the road and moving the Twins losing skid to six straight:
#KBO home run: Park Byung-ho of Kiwoom Heroes with a massive grand slam in top 9th vs. LG Twins to for an 8-5 lead. The Twins intentionally walked Lee Jung-hoo (dangerous, yes) to get to Park (0-for-4 with 3Ks in the game, 0-for-4 with bases loaded this season before the slam)
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Within a wild slate of games, prayers for SK’s manager who collapsed during Game 1 against Doosan:
KBO club manager falls unconscious during game https://t.co/jSkqwNhqk8
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) June 25, 2020
In this follow-up tweet later in the morning, it appears he’s on the road to recovery:
#KBO news: update on SK manager Youm Kyoung-youb, who fell unconscious during a game vs. Doosan Thursday: he has regained his consciousness but will remain hospitalized for further tests. Lack of sleep, insufficient diet and severe stress cited as reasons for his health issues.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Speaking of wild, not only did Chang-mo Koo of NC lose his quality start streak of eight from the start of the season, his team engaged in a crazy second game in their doubleheader:
#KBO wildness: What in the world is going on in that NC-KT game? KT was up 5-1, then NC tied it 5-5 with 4 runs in top 7th, then KT scores 4 right back in bot. 7th, NC gets a run back in top 8th, and then KT puts up a 10-spot in bot. 8th for a 19-6 lead. 17 hits for KT.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Despite his rough outing, Koo still leads the KBO in ERA (1.37), WHIP (0.76) and strikeouts (65) after yielding only five earned runs over his first 55 innings prior to his four allowed in four innings in Game 2. His hold on the strikeout lead seems tenuous with Lotte’s Dan Straily getting his start rained out but he should return to the mound on Friday or Saturday against Samsung.
While the MLB gets prepared to set schedules and plan on how to integrate fans at stadiums, the KBO appears on the precipice of fans returning to the stands:
It looks like #KBO will soon have the fans back at the games as early as next Tues. CDC is expected make an announcement this weekend allowing pro teams to sell tickets for the games. 1st phase is expected to be around 25% capacity and gradually increase from there.
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) June 25, 2020
With this in mind, here’s the protocol for fans upon return on Tuesday:
According to #KBO manual, tickets will be sold on-line and temps will be checked at the gates. You must wear a mask to enter and medical staff will be present at the stadiums w/ full testing kit. In other words, if a fan shows symptoms, fan(s) will be tested immedly.
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) June 25, 2020
In an effort to streamline the top performances from Thursday across the KBO, teams with a doubleheader will include statistics from each game along with the best individual outings intermixed in this Round Up.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight
From the early games, Mike Wright led the way for NC battling for five innings en route to his sixth win giving up five hits, one earned run and four walks with four strikeouts. Here’s an example of his arsenal from the outing:
Mike Wright , Nasty 93mph Front Hip Two Seamer. ???? pic.twitter.com/fymAr1a8lN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 25, 2020
Wright’s still issuing too many free passes but remains among the league leaders in wins (tied for second) despite them.
Seung-ho Lee recorded his first win of the season allowing eight hits and two earned runs striking out three over five innings for Kiwoom. He’s logged two quality starts of his four June starts with a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings in them.
Bum-soo Kim tossed six innings yielding six hits, two earned runs and three walks with seven strikeouts in his second start for Hanwha notching his second win of 2020. Being stretched out to start, Kim may be someone to track going forward after stifling a surging Samsung offense.
In Game 2 for SK, Seung-won Moon fired seven shutout innings giving up four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Despite five straight quality outings in a row, Moon’s only 2-2 in them with a minuscule 1.39 ERA and 0.68 WHIP his last 32.1 innings with a 34:9 K:BB. Not too shabby along with shutting out a deep Doosan lineup.
Woo-chan Cha received a no-decision after his bullpen imploded in the ninth inning but tossed six shutout frames versus Kiwoom yielding only one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts. Cha only lasted one inning his last outing giving up eight earned runs but fired a combined 13 scoreless innings against Kiwoom this month. Baseball.
Hitter Highlights
KT Wiz
After singing his praises repeatedly in this column and highlighting his zone profile on Wednesday, Mel Rojas Jr. currently sits in first in all three Triple Crown categories in the KBO. He leads the league in home runs launching his 15th in Game 2 against NC, in batting average (.384) after going 3-for-8 in the two games and tied for first in RBI (43) driving in three on Thursday. Rojas Jr. also tied Jose Miguel Fernandez for the lead in hits (68) and ranks second in runs (38). His teammates also chipped in during a split with the Dinos:
Baek-ho Kang (1B) - Went three for eight in the two games with three runs, an RBI and a walk.
Jae-Gyun Hwang (3B) - Finished 3-for-6 with three runs, a double and two RBI in the doubleheader.
Woo-jun Sim (SS) - Although he went hitless in Game 1 over four at-bats, Sim racked up three hits in five at-bats in Game 2 with a run and drove in four.
Doosan Bears
Kun-woo Park (OF) - Only appeared in Game 1 going 3-for-5 with two runs. He’s notched multiple hits in nine of his last 14 contests.
Jose Miguel Fernandez (1B) - A combined 2-for-8 in the two games with two runs, an RBI and a walk.
Joo Hwan Choi (2B) - Recorded three hits in eight at-bats with a run and a walk.
Jae-hwan Kim (OF) - Launched his 10th home run in Game 1 among his three hits driving in four runs and went 1-for-3 in Game 2 before being lifted. Kim’s now tied for the KBO lead in RBI with Rojas Jr. and nine for his last 17 (.529) with two home runs along with eight RBI his last four contests.
Kyoung-min Hur (3B) - Tallied a double dong day in Game 1 hitting his third and fourth home runs this season driving in three. Went hitless in Game 2 but finished 2-for-7 in the double dip.
Soo-bin Jung (OF) - Racked up three hits in four at-bats in Game 1 batting ninth. Moved to leadoff in Game 2 and went hitless in three at-bats. Baseball.
SK Wyverns
Kyung-ho Kim (OF) - A strong day at the dish going 6-for-9 in two games with three runs, a double and an RBI.
Ji-hoon Choi (OF) - Went 3-for-5 in two contests with three runs, a double, four walks and stole his fourth base in Game 2. Choi’s hit safely in eight of his last nine and continues to be a low priced dart in DFS.
Jeong Choi (3B) - Cracked his eighth home run of 2020 in Game 2 and finished 3-for-8 in the doubleheader with three RBI. Turning his season around this month, Choi’s hitting .324 with six home runs and 12 RBI in 20 games.
Jamie Romak (1B) - Also went 3-for-8 with a run, three RBI and walked.
Kang-min Kim (OF) - Notched multiple hits in both ends of the doubleheader going a combined 5-for-9 with two runs, a triple, hit his fifth home run and drove in four runs total.
Hanwha Eagles
Eun-won Jung (2B) - Tripled and hit his second home run driving in four runs along with a walk in five plate appearances during the Eagles 9-2 win over Samsung.
Jae-hoon Choi (C) - Moved his modest hit streak to three games going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. So far in June, Choi’s batting .327 with eight runs, two home runs and six RBI with more walks (six) than strikeouts (three).
NC Dinos
Sung-bum Na (OF) - During a split in KT, Na hit his 13th home run in Game 1 driving in two and recorded a double with three RBI in Game 2 for a 2-for-6 day with five RBI while drawing two walks. Na moved into a tie for third in RBI in the KBO (40) and a tie for second in home runs (13) as a result.
Jin-hyuk No (SS) - A robust 4-for-6 in two contests with a double, his sixth home run and an RBI in them.
Aaron Altherr (OF) - Hit his 10th home run, a solo shot in Game 1 and appeared late in Game 2 replacing Na during a lopsided loss late.
Kiwoom Heroes
Keon-chang Seo (2B) - Only went 2-for-8 in the two games but scored two runs, drove in one, walked and stole his 10th base.
Ha-seong Kim (SS) - Launched his 10th home run in Game 1 driving in three and finished 2-for-8 with four RBI total in the two games.
Jung-hoo Lee (OF) - Recorded two hits in the first game but hitless in the second. All told, Lee went 2-for-8 with a run, double, RBI and a walk.
Byung-ho Park (1B) - Along with hitting the go ahead grand slam in Game 2, Park finished 2-for-7 with two runs, a double, his 11th home run and four RBI while walking once in each contest.
Byung-woo Jeon (3B) - Scored three runs going 3-for-8 with an RBI.
LG Twins
Keun-woo Jeong (DH) - A perfect 3-for-3 in Game 1 with a run along with a 1-for-2 line in Game 2 atop the Twins lineup.
Hyun-Soo Kim (OF) - Finished 3-for-9 with a run, a double and two RBI in the double dip.
Roberto Ramos (1B) - A respectable 3-for-8 day with two RBI but still no home runs since his return from the injured list on the 18th.
With teams traversing the country to prepare for the weekend sets, here’s the updated standings in the KBO:
?June 25th? Game scores for today!
— KBO (@KBOleague) June 25, 2020
? Check out the latest KBO standings ????#KBO #KBOLeague #scores #standings pic.twitter.com/kEPoZSDNki
ESPN will focus on the upcoming battle for first place with Doosan heading to NC showing all three games this weekend. However, there’s also some intriguing match-ups on Friday through Sunday in the KBO:
Kia Tigers invade Kiwoom in the midst of an eight game win streak
LG carries a six game losing skid into SK
KT heads to Hanwha
Samsung arrives in Lotte to face a rested Dan Straily
Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm to remain ahead of the competition in the KBO and across all fantasy formats and be well.
Statistical Credits
myKBOstats.com
Eng.koreabaseball.com