By Baek Byung-yeul
The Kia Tigers and the NC Dinos, the No. 1 and 2 teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League standings, will play a three-game series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field starting today.
While it is expected to rain in the Gwangju area today and Thursday, the three-game series will be a must-see matchup for KBO fans before the All-Star break. This year's KBO All-Star Game will take place in Daegu for two days on Friday and Sunday. The Tigers have already locked their place at the top in the standings with 54 wins and 28 losses, while the Dinos remain five games behind the Tigers with 48 wins, one draw and 32 losses.
There will be no changes in the standings before the All-Star break even if the Dinos sweep the series. But, this will be a chance for the No. 1 team to tie with the No. 2 team as the Tigers have won only three while losing six of their last meetings.
The Tigers will start their one-two punch Hector Noesi (13 wins and no losses with a 3.09 ERA), Yang Hyeon-jong (12-3, 3.99 ERA) and side arm starter Im Gi-yeong (12-2, 1.82 ERA), who had been hospitalized with pneumonia symptoms.
Not to be outdone, the Dinos will also start their American ace Jeff Manship during the series. The 32-year-old, who is in his first KBO League season, had won seven of his seven starts with an ERA of 1.49 before being sidelined for about two months with a right elbow injury. His last start was against the Nexen Heroes, May 10, where he threw five innings, allowing only three hits and no runs.
However, the question is whether the Dinos' pitchers can find a rhythm when facing the mighty Tigers' hitters.
While taking nine wins in the last 10 games, the Tigers' batters displayed Herculean feats, scoring 136 runs. During the period, they recorded a batting average of .415, belting 23 home runs.
Shortstop Kim Sun-bin and Choi leads the league in batting average (.379), followed by his teammate left fielder Choi Hyung-woo (.369), who leads the league in RBIs with 77. They also have four hitters with double digit home runs -- Choi with 20, centerfielder Roger Bernadina with 15, designated hitter Na Ji-wan with 14 and second baseman An Chi-hong with 10.
At Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the defending champion Doosan Bears will take on the on-form Nexen Heroes from today.
The Bears, who are placed fifth with 40 wins, one draw and 38 losses, are on a slight downturn. Though they remained third in May, their bullpen was shaky the following month. The bullpen recorded the league's worst ERA of 7.24 to finish June with 11 wins and 14 losses. What is worse for them was they lost key players June 25. In a game against the Lotte Giants, catcher Yang Eui-ji and right fielder Min Byung-hun were hit by pitches on their left and right hands. The two left for Japan to heal their injuries and the Bears' manager Kim Tae-hyung confirmed their return dates are uncertain.
Given that the Heroes have continued onward, winning seven in the past 10 games, the three-game series will be tough but the Bears fans have hope as they have Michael Bowden who recently returned from injury.
The American starter was sidelined due to a shoulder injury in April and made a successful return last week. Against the KT Wiz, July 4, the right-hander took his first win of the season after allowing one earned-run in 5 2/3 innings. He is expected to start the first game of the series.
The Kia Tigers and the NC Dinos, the No. 1 and 2 teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League standings, will play a three-game series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field starting today.
While it is expected to rain in the Gwangju area today and Thursday, the three-game series will be a must-see matchup for KBO fans before the All-Star break. This year's KBO All-Star Game will take place in Daegu for two days on Friday and Sunday. The Tigers have already locked their place at the top in the standings with 54 wins and 28 losses, while the Dinos remain five games behind the Tigers with 48 wins, one draw and 32 losses.
There will be no changes in the standings before the All-Star break even if the Dinos sweep the series. But, this will be a chance for the No. 1 team to tie with the No. 2 team as the Tigers have won only three while losing six of their last meetings.
The Tigers will start their one-two punch Hector Noesi (13 wins and no losses with a 3.09 ERA), Yang Hyeon-jong (12-3, 3.99 ERA) and side arm starter Im Gi-yeong (12-2, 1.82 ERA), who had been hospitalized with pneumonia symptoms.
Not to be outdone, the Dinos will also start their American ace Jeff Manship during the series. The 32-year-old, who is in his first KBO League season, had won seven of his seven starts with an ERA of 1.49 before being sidelined for about two months with a right elbow injury. His last start was against the Nexen Heroes, May 10, where he threw five innings, allowing only three hits and no runs.
However, the question is whether the Dinos' pitchers can find a rhythm when facing the mighty Tigers' hitters.
While taking nine wins in the last 10 games, the Tigers' batters displayed Herculean feats, scoring 136 runs. During the period, they recorded a batting average of .415, belting 23 home runs.
Shortstop Kim Sun-bin and Choi leads the league in batting average (.379), followed by his teammate left fielder Choi Hyung-woo (.369), who leads the league in RBIs with 77. They also have four hitters with double digit home runs -- Choi with 20, centerfielder Roger Bernadina with 15, designated hitter Na Ji-wan with 14 and second baseman An Chi-hong with 10.
At Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the defending champion Doosan Bears will take on the on-form Nexen Heroes from today.
The Bears, who are placed fifth with 40 wins, one draw and 38 losses, are on a slight downturn. Though they remained third in May, their bullpen was shaky the following month. The bullpen recorded the league's worst ERA of 7.24 to finish June with 11 wins and 14 losses. What is worse for them was they lost key players June 25. In a game against the Lotte Giants, catcher Yang Eui-ji and right fielder Min Byung-hun were hit by pitches on their left and right hands. The two left for Japan to heal their injuries and the Bears' manager Kim Tae-hyung confirmed their return dates are uncertain.
Given that the Heroes have continued onward, winning seven in the past 10 games, the three-game series will be tough but the Bears fans have hope as they have Michael Bowden who recently returned from injury.
The American starter was sidelined due to a shoulder injury in April and made a successful return last week. Against the KT Wiz, July 4, the right-hander took his first win of the season after allowing one earned-run in 5 2/3 innings. He is expected to start the first game of the series.
