By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter

The Korean Series champion Kia Tigers lost to the Japan Series Champion Yomiuri Giants 9-4 in the Korea-Japan Club Championship, Saturday.

The Tigers looked poised to grab the 20 million yen prize money awarded to the winner of the one-game champion, as Tigers young lefty Yang Hyun-jong allowed just one through 5 2/3 innings as the Tigers took a 3-1 lead. But the Japanese powerhouse Giants got to the Tigers in the seventh and produced seven runs to get the win at Big N Stadium in Nagasaki.

It was not the same Tigers club that beat the SK Wyverns in the Korean Series as the Gwangju-based team was without several of its top players, including starters Aquilino Lopez, Rick Guttormson and Yoon Suk-min and leadoff hitter Lee young-kyu due to various reasons.

While the Tigers lost, the team did get an impressive outing from Yang, expected to be one their future stars.

Yang frustrated Giant hitters through into the six innings, allowing just a home run to Giants veteran Michihiro Ogasawara. Na Ji-wan, who hit the Korean Series-winning home run in the ninth inning of Game 7, led the Tigers with three RBIs.

Tigers veteran Lee Jong-bum, who played previously with the Chunichi Dragons in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), was the leadoff hitter and had a single to start the game in the first inning. Lee stole the second base and scored on a single by Na.

Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) all time home run king Lee Seung-yeop got the first hit for the Giants with a double in the third but was stranded.

In the fifth, Lee Hyun-gon and Lee Jong-bum hit back-to-back singles and one batter later, an infield single by Kim Won-sup loaded the bases.

Na then stepped to the plate and hit a two-run single off Tetsuya Utsumi to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Tigers manager Cho Bum-hyun replaced his 21-year-old starter in the fifth, even though he had thrown just 84 pitches and had struck out six and allowed just three hits.

The Giants feasted on Tigers bullpen as Japan Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Shinnosuke Abe hit three run homer off reliever Kwak Jung-chul. Lee Seung-yeop then hit a double and Kwak walked two more batters before Giants' Venezuelan slugger Alex Ramirez hit a two-run single. Jung Yong-woon relieved Kwak but couldn't stop the bleeding and allowed two more runs. The Giants added one more run in the ninth. The Tigers also got one back in the ninth but it wasn't enough. They will still receive 5 million yen in prize money.

Besides Yang and Na, there were few bright spots for the Tigers, however, Lee Jong-bum did have two hits and a stolen base.

yc@koreatimes.co.kr