Bears rout Dinos 7-0 in Game 1 of playoff series
Doosan Bears starting pitcher Dustin Nippert, second from right, celebrates with his teammates after defeating the NC Dinos 7-0 in Game 1 of the second playoff series at Masan Baseball Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. Nippert threw nine shutout innings. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
As Dustin Nippert threw nine shutout innings, the Doosan Bears routed the NC Dinos 7-0 in Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Sunday.
At Masan Baseball Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Nippert only allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six batters and throwing 114 pitches. He pitched four perfect innings until Dinos first baseman Eric Thames made a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With an outstanding performance, the 34-year-old American became the third imported pitcher to record a complete shutout, following Daniel Rios of the Bears in the first game of the 2007 Korean Series and Aquilino Lopez of the Kia Tigers in the fifth game of 2009 Korean Series.
The Bears got off to a good start, scoring two runs in the first inning.
With two runners on base, Bears leadoff man Jung Soo-bin came home on a wild pitch by Dinos starter Eric Hacker when Bears left fielder Kim Hyun-soo was at bat. Kim then hit an RBI single for a strong first inning.
Making the game 3-0, right fielder Min Byung-hun slammed a solo home run off Hacker in the third. Designated hitter Hong Sung-heon added a solo shot in the fourth, making it 4-0 for Bears. That was Hong’s 100th hit in all the playoffs he’s played in and made him the first KBO batter to hit more than 100 hits.
Min smashed a three-run homer in the seventh, this time off of Dinos reliever Kim Jin-sung, widening the score to 7-0.
Dinos right handed starter Hacker, who led the KBO league with 19 wins this season, failed to live up to his reputation as he allowed four runs while throwing 66 pitches.
The Bears manager Kim Tae-hyeong praised Nippert after the game and said “he is devoted to his role as an ace pitcher. Nippert is throwing his best ball. I was going to replace him in the ninth inning, but he said he could throw more,” Kim told reporters after the game.“I am very pleased that we can win the first game, as my goal at the away games was to win at least one of them.”
With the Game 1 victory, the Bears raised the possibility to advance to the Korean Series, which will pit them against the reigning champion Samsung Lions, as the team who grabs the first match of the best-of-five series in the past 25 series had roughly an 80 percent chance to play in the Korean Series.
The second playoff game between the Dinos and the Bears will take place at Masan Baseball Stadium, Monday at 6:30 p.m. The Dinos will start right hander Zach Stewart, who had eight wins and two losses while throwing in 19 games with a 2.68 ERA, while the Bears will start left hander Jang Won-jun, who garnered 12 wins and 12 losses in 30 games with 4.08 ERA.