With two games in the books, only three teams remain undefeated: Lotte Giants, NC Dinos and Kiwoom Heroes. On the other end of the spectrum, only the Samsung Lions, KT Wiz and Kia Tigers remain winless. Runs scored decreased compared to Opening Day with more pitching duels on Wednesday in Korea. Keeping in form with yesterday’s Round Up, here’s a recap of the action overnight in the KBO.
Starting Pitching Spotlight
When previewing import pitchers of interest, Mike Wright flew a bit below the radar but made a favorable impression with his new team the NC Dinos:
All 7 of Mike Wright's strikeouts today in his KBO debut for the NC Dinos.
— Connor Newcomb (@ConnorNewcomb_) May 6, 2020
Wright's final line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP
Dinos beat the Samsung Lions 4-3. pic.twitter.com/chJfzLYYxm
Wright tossed 95 pitches in five innings giving up four hits, two earned runs and a walk with seven strikeouts. Due to strikeouts being depressed in the contact heavy KBO, Wright’s arsenal could play well in his new surroundings.
Young-hu Lee of the Doosan Bears worked 6.1 innings allowing five hits, two runs (zero earned) and two walks with three strikeouts for a win over the LG Twins. Jun-won Seo of the Lotte Giants garnered his first win ceding five hits, one run (zero earned) and one walk with two strikeouts against the KT Wiz.
Import Ricardo Pinto of the SK Wyverns recorded his first win tossing 94 pitches over 6.2 innings yielding three hits, one earned run and three walks with three strikeouts.
Neither starter factored in the decision between Kiwoom and Kia. Eric Jokisch threw 66 pitches in five innings for Kiwoom allowing five hits, one earned run and one walk with four strikeouts. Aaron Brooks toed the rubber for Kia logging 88 pitches in 5.2 innings giving up five hits, one earned run and striking out six in his KBO debut.
Hitter Highlights
Lotte Giants
Lotte exploded for nine runs leading the way in the KBO in Wednesday’s game action.
Byung-hun Min (CF) - went 4-for-5 with three runs and a double from the leadoff spot in the lineup.
Jun-woo Jeon (LF) - racked up three hits with two runs, a double and two RBI.
Hoon Jung (1B) - only notched one hit but made it count launching a three-run home run.
Here’s a look at Jung’s blast:
MyKBO's Favorite Home Run of the Day featuring Lotte's Jung Hoon with a 3-run shot pic.twitter.com/lGnKqVC2gD
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 6, 2020
SK Wyverns
Before delving into the hitters of note, a little KBO history:
Congratulations to SK's Han Dong-min for hitting his 100th career home run. He's the 95th person to do so in league history. https://t.co/cartd1Embn
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 6, 2020
While this number seems low to MLB fans, it’s one to recognize for a KBO player’s career milestone.
Dong-min Han (RF) - blasted two home runs with three RBI in a win over Hanwha helping the Wyverns to even their record after two games.
Jamie Romak (1B) - went 2-for-4 with a run, double and RBI.
Eui-yoon Jeong (LF) - finished 2-for-4 with a run, double and RBI as well.
Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (DH) - racked up a multiple hit game with two hits in four at-bats while scoring a run.
Jae-il Oh (1B) - recorded a 3-for-4 contest with a run, double and two RBI.
Joo-hwan Choi (2B) - hit his first home run driving in two and made this play at second base:
Doosan 2B Joo-hwan Choi with the incredible snag pic.twitter.com/MTQPwGOWb4
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 6, 2020
Samsung Lions
In a loss, the Lions provided a bit of pop with three solo shots:
Hae-min Park (CF) - 1-for-4 with a home run.
Dong-yeop Kim (DH) - smacked two extra-base hits with a double and a home run.
Sung-gyu Lee (1B) - launched a home run in three at-bats from the last spot in the lineup.
NC Dinos
After a rough debut, Aaron Altherr settled in during his second contest in the KBO:
Aaron Altherr launches his first KBO dinger. Moonshot to left field. Then he comes into the dugout, gets the silent treatment so just starts dabbing alone. pic.twitter.com/e3ievdY7wt
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 6, 2020
Altherr went 2-for-3 with the solo home run before leaving the game for a defensive replacement. Teammate Jin-hyuk Na (SS) also went two-for-three with a home run but with two RBI and a walk.
Other hitters of note include Kwan-min Song (3B) of the Hanwha Eagles going 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI and a walk. Kyung-soo Park (2B) of the KT Wiz hit his first home run among his two hits. Keon-chang Seo (2B) hit leadoff for Kiwoom finished 1-for-3 with a run, triple and an RBI. In a loss, Hyung-woo Choi (DH) of the Kia Tigers doubled and homered driving in one.
Sometimes news or tweets highlight an organizational move which flies below the radar. Check out this one about the Lotte Giants:
#LotteGiants’ biggest problem last yr was catching behind plate. Thats one of the reasons why they brought in @PandaCrusher35 and early signs are looking promising. Bo-keun Jung surprisingly won the starting job and we are beginning to see why. #KBO https://t.co/ohBvji2vDb
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) May 6, 2020
Teams will wrap up their first three-game series early Thursday morning so check back later for James Grande’s playbook for DFS action in the KBO. Until then, be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm to remain ahead of the competition.
Statistical Credits
myKBOstats.com
eng.Koreabaseball.com