By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter

Aquilino Lopez pitched a complete game shutout, moving the Kia Tigers to within one win of the franchise's 10th Korean Series, as the regular season champions beat the SK Wyverns 3-0 in Game 5 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul Thursday.

Tigers outfielder Lee Yong-kyu's suicide squeeze in the third inning gave his side the much-coveted first run of the game and Lopez made it stand up as the winning run, notching six strikeouts in a four-hitter.

"Scoring the first run was very important for us to win. But most of all, Lopez pitched really well," Tigers manager Cho Bum-hyun said.

Speed on the base paths helped the Tigers score their first run.

Lee Hyun-gon, the last hitter in the Tigers batting order, produced the team's first hit, a double, against Wyverns Japanese starter Ken Kadokura. Leadoff hitter Kim Won-sub followed that up with an infield hit that Wyverns' shortstop Na Joo-hwan prevented from leaving the infield, but couldn't make a play on.

Lee Young-kyu came up with runners on the corners and had to reach for a ball pitched outside to execute the squeeze play. Lee bunted towards third base and Lee Hyun-gon came in to score to give the Tigers the game's first run.

The Tigers added to their lead in the sixth when Choi Hee-seop brought home Lee Young-kyu with an RBI single.

Kim Sang-hyun followed that up with another single, putting runners on first and second for Lee Jong-bum.

Lee hit a ground ball to the right side which was fielded by Wyverns second baseman Jeong Keun-woo, who threw to second looking to start a double play. Na made the first out at second base but as he tried to make the throw to first, Kim Sang-hyun slid into him, forcing Na's throw off target and allowing Choi to score for a 3-0 lead.

The Wyverns manager Kim Sung-keun appealed strongly to the umpire that Lee had clearly interfered with Na. The angry 66-year-old boss continued to make his case but when he was refused, he called his players to the bench, refusing to continue playing. It resulted in an 11-minute delay before the umpire finally ordered the players back on the field and ejected Kim. It was the first time ever that a manager has been ejected in a postseason game.

The Wyverns had their best chance to get on the board in the seventh inning after a walk by Lee Ho-jun, a single from Park Jae-hong and a fielding error by the Tigers sent runners to second and third with one out. But Lopez got himself out of the jam with a strikeout and a fly ball.

The Tigers send Yoon Suk-min to the mound in Game 6 while the Wyverns will start Song Eun-bum.

yc@koreatimes.co.kr