Bears Advance to Korean Series
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Kim Myung-je pitched a shutout into the seventh inning as the Doosan Bears completed its sweep of the Hanhwa Eagles in a 6-0 win in Daejeon Wednesday to earn a berth in the Korean Series.
The Seoul-based Bears will clash with Incheon's SK Wyverns, the pennant race champions, in a best of seven final series starting in Incheon, Oct. 22.
Kim, a third-year pitcher with a modest 4-7 record in the regular season, looked like a completely different player Wednesday as he blanked the Eagles lineup for 6 2/3 innings, which was more than enough for the Bears' hard-throwing bullpen to complete the shutout.
Down 2-0 in a best of five playoff series, the Eagles had hoped for a dramatic comeback with 17-game winner Ryu Hyung-jin taking the mound. However, their fate was probably sealed when Ryu, who led the league in strikeouts and finished second in ERA this season, failed to make it through the second inning after giving up three runs over three hits and being pulled after complaining of pain in his left pitching shoulder.
The Bears hitters attacked Ryu early with a three-run first inning, opening their account on three straight singles and adding two runs on an error by Eagles second baseman Han Sang-hoon and a sacrifice fly by Ahn Kyung-hyun.
The Eagles' Cedric Bowers pitched five scoreless innings relieving Ryu but imploded in the seventh, hitting Min Byung-hyun with a pitch and allowing Lee Jong-wook, who went 3-4 in the game, to reach first on an infield single.
Kim Hyun-soo brought Min home with a double to the left and Lee followed on a wild pitch by Bowers that made it 5-0. The Bears added another run in the eight on a sacrifice fly by Lee, who was named as the MVP of the playoff series after hitting .545 in the three games.