In a Kia Tigers lineup full of smart hitters and mashers, Kim Do-yeong stood out Wednesday night with his first career Korean Series home run.
Kim, the leading regular-season MVP candidate in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), smacked a solo homer as part of a two-RBI night in the Tigers’ 8-3 win over the Samsung Lions in Game 2 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
Kim had a small hand in the Tigers’ five-run outburst in the bottom of the first, as his RBI groundout gave the Tigers their first run of the game.
Then in the bottom second, Kim launched a solo home run off reliever Lee Seung-min, drilling an outside fastball and sending it 115 meters into the seats in right field.
Kim, a third-year pro, enjoyed one of the most productive regular seasons in KBO history this year. He had 38 homers and 40 steals, falling just two dingers shy of just the second 40-40 season ever in the KBO. Kim also posted a robust .347/.420/.647 line and set a single-season record with 14
3 runs scored.
And playing in the Korean Series for the first time, the 21-year-old has shown no signs of nerves over the first two games.
Kim and Co. in the lineup backed a solid start by Yang Hyeon-jong, the 2017 Korean Series MVP for the Tigers now going for his third career title.
Yang, 36, made his sixth Korean Series appearance Wednesday. He allowed at least a baserunner in each of the first four frames and scattered eight hits, somehow keeping the damage to just two runs across 5 1/3 innings.
He loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the top of the third, before retiring Kim Young-woong on a flyout.
Yang allowed his first run of the game due to his own miscue in the top fourth. With Ryu Ji-hyuk at first, Yang dropped a toss from first baseman Lee Woo-sung while covering the bag following a Kim Hyeon-joon grounder. Ryu sprinted home on the play, with Yang getting charged with an error.
Yang gave up a single to the next batter but got Kim Hun-gon to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the
inning.
Yang pitched his only clean inning in the fifth, punctuating it by striking out Kim Young-woong on a slider.
Yang was lifted with one out in the sixth, after giving up his second run of the night on a double, a walk and a single. But relievers Lee Jun-young and Jang Hyun-sik each retired a batter to end the inning and close the book on Yang.
This was Yang’s first Korean Series start since Game 2 of the 2017 series. Yang tossed a complete game shutout then, holding the Doosan Bears to four hits while striking out 11 in a 1-0 win. The Tigers evened the series at 1-1 with that victory and went on to take the next three games for their 11th Korean Series championship.
In his pregame press conference, Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho said it would be “the best-case scenario” if Yang could pitch Wednesday as well as he did in 2017, before adding that it would be difficult for Yang to match that performance.
Lee was not throwing shade on Yang but was merely being realistic, considering Yang’s advanced age and
up-and-down stretch following the 2017 championship season. Lee said he hoped for five or six innings of decent work from Yang and for some big hits from his lineup.
Lee got exactly that, with Kim leading the big offensive night and Yang holding his own on the mound.
Source: Yonhap News Agency