NC Dinos turn game-ending triple play, fifth in KBO history

The NC Dinos won 4-1 against the Samsung Lions on Sunday in a game that was unremarkable except for one aspect – it ended with a triple play. The occurrence of a single triple play is rare enough; only 68 triple plays have been turned in the Korean Baseball Organization’s 37-year existence. But a game-ending triple play is even rarer; Sunday’s game was only the fifth such occurrence.A triple play most commonly occurs in one of two circumstances: either a sharp ground ball hit to the third basema

Aug. 7, 2017

Nexen’s Choice hits first KBO homer, but Lotte wins 5-4 in 10

Nexen Heroes right fielder Michael Choice hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of Nexen’s Saturday game against the Lotte Giants, but Nexen ultimately fell in extra innings, 5-4. The home run was Choice’s first since joining the Korean Baseball Organization in late July.In addition to his home run, Choice singled twice to go 3-for-5, his second multi-hit game in the KBO. Including the results of Sunday’s game, Choice has appeared in 8 games for Nexen, and is currently batting .

Aug. 7, 2017

The Kia Tigers‘ bizarre weekend struggles

The Kia Tigers are doing a lot of things right. At 65-35-1, they are in first place in the Korean Baseball Organization, with a comfortable five-and-a-half game lead over second-place NC Dinos. As a team, they are cumulatively hitting .305/.375/.480, and are first or second among teams in the KBO in virtually every offensive category. Statistics retrieved from STATIZ.But the emphasis on offensive firepower has not come at the expense of pitching. While Kia’s hurlers are not dominating the league

Aug. 7, 2017

Ex-MLB pitcher out for season in Korea with hand injury

Ex-big league pitcher Anthony Ranaudo has been ruled out for the rest of the South Korean season with a hand injury, his team said Saturday.The Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization said the American right-hander underwent surgery to repair a broken right hand in New York on Thursday.Ranaudo took a batted ball to his right hand against the NC Dinos on July 27, and was diagnosed with a broken bone in the pitching hand. He left for the United States last Sunday. In this file photo taken

Aug. 7, 2017

Young hurler shrugs off workload concerns

Perhaps the only person not concerned about the workload for Lotte Giants starter Park Se-woong may be Park himself.There has been much handwringing around the Korea Baseball Organization about the number of pitches for the 21-year-old right-hander. In his third season, and second as a full-time starter, Park has thrown 124 2/3 innings in 20 starts, well on pace to surpass his career high of 139 innings from 27 starts in 2016.It's not just the number of innings. Park has thrown 100 or more pitch

Aug. 4, 2017

Bernadina becomes 3rd foreign player to hit for cycle in KBO

In the Kia Tigers’ 9-3 victory over the KT Wiz on Thursday night, Kia center fielder Roger Bernadina became just the third foreign player in Korean Baseball Organization history to hit for the cycle. Kia Tigers center fielder watches his home run leave the yard in a game against the KT Wiz on August 3, 2017. (Yonhap)Bernadina got the most difficult of the four hits out of the way in the first inning, lining a ball just past KT first baseman Yoon Suk-min into the right field corner for an RBI tri

Aug. 4, 2017

Giants' Hwang Jae-gyun goes back to minors

It's back to the minor leagues again for San Francisco Giants third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun.The Giants demoted the slumping South Korean to Triple-A Sacramento for the second time this season on Wednesday (local time), and designated another third baseman, Conor Gillaspie, for assignment.They called up prospect Ryder Jones, who can play third base and outfield, from Sacramento while activating outfielder Jarrett Parker from the disabled list.Hwang was called up to the majors for the second time l

Aug. 4, 2017

Baseball manager with brain tumor discharged from hospital

South Korean baseball club NC Dinos said Thursday their manager Kim Kyung-moon, recently diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, has been discharged from hospital.The Korea Baseball Organization club said Kim will be resting at his home and will remain sidelined indefinitely.Kim, 58, left last Friday's game against the KT Wiz in Suwon, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, with dizziness and symptoms of acute indigestion. He was admitted to a hospital in Bundang, near Suwon. The Dinos then announced T

Aug. 3, 2017

From scrub to standout: Understanding the new Roger Bernadina

A lot of things have clicked for the Kia Tigers this season, chief among them being their offense’s record production. Kia’s fearsome lineup features three of the Korean Baseball Organization’s top 10 hitters by batting average, and five of the top 20 hitters by adjusted weighted runs created, and is a driving force behind the team’s domination of the standings, currently sitting in a comfortable first place at 63-34, five games up on the second-place NC Dinos.A major force behind the dominance

Aug. 3, 2017

Outfielder stays hot in August, nears 20-20 season

In the dog days of summer, NC Dinos outfielder Na Sung-bum has been the hottest hitter in South Korean baseball.Na leads the Korea Baseball Organization with a .378 batting average. He was batting a still-robust .347 through May. He missed a few weeks of action with a wrist injury but came back to hit .500 (13-for-26) in eight games in June.Then Na really took off in July, batting .383 for the month to raise his season average to .370. He has gone 6-for-9 in two games so far this month to get pa

Aug. 3, 2017

Choo’s 3 hits, Gallo’s 2 homers can’t save Rangers from dropping fourth straight

Choo Shin-soo collected 3 hits and Joey Gallo homered twice, but the Texas Rangers still fell to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. The loss was the Rangers’ fourth straight. Texas Rangers leadoff hitter Choo Shin-soo batting in a game on August 1, 2017. (Yonhap)Choo batted in his customary leadoff spot, but was given the day off from playing the field, slotting in at designated hitter.Choo singled in his first two at-bats in the 1st and 3rd innings, but was left stranded both times. He flew

Aug. 3, 2017

Lester hits first homer, throws 2,000th K in Cubs’ blowout win

The Chicago Cubs 16-4 blowout victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks was a full team effort, as every Cubs batter contributed at least one hit to the team’s victory.But of all of the 17 hits collected by Cubs hitters during the game, perhaps the most surprising was a third inning home run hit by Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester, the first of his career.  Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester throwing a pitch on July 23, 2017. (Yonhap)Lester became notable for his hitting during the 2015 season

Aug. 3, 2017

Kim Hyun-soo collects first hit in Phillies uniform

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kim Hyun-soo hits a double in a game on August 1, 2017. (Yonhap)Kim Hyun-soo collected his first hit as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, a double, against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.Kim, who was traded from the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, was making his second start in his new uniform. He batted in the eighth spot in the lineup as the Phillies’ designated hitter. He got his first plate appearance in the second inning with one out, and

Aug. 2, 2017

Vazquez‘s walk-off homer ends wild night at Fenway

Christian Vazquez’s first home run of the season was a big one, a three-run walk-off to give his Boston Red Sox a 12-10 victory over the visiting Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.In a way it seemed fitting that the light-hitting Vazquez, who is slugging a paltry .365, hit the game-winning home run off Cleveland closer Cody Allen, who is generally lights-out. The game had already been one of unexpected turns and subverted expectations, and Vazquez’s home run was the perfect nightcap. Boston Red

Aug. 2, 2017

Nexen's Brigham finds his groove in KBO

After toiling for years and bouncing from league to league, Nexen Heroes starting pitcher Jake Brigham seems to have finally found his stride. Brigham has been stellar for Nexen in the second half of the Korean Baseball Organization season, and was recently named player of the week for the final week of July. Nexen Heroes starting pitcher Jake Brigham delivers a pitch in a game on July 25, 2017. (Yonhap)The 29-year-old Brigham began his professional baseball journey in 2006, when he was drafted

Aug. 2, 2017

Song stopped short of 100, LG blanks Lotte 2-0

Lotte Giants starter Song Seung-jun allowed only 2 runs in his Tuesday night start against the LG Twins, but the 2 runs were all LG starter Kim Dae-hyun and the LG bullpen would need as they blanked the Lotte offense for a 2-0 victory.Song scattered two walks and nine hits over his five innings, striking out six. He fell to 6-3 on the year, but improved his ERA to 3.75.LG shortstop Oh Ji-hwan drove in the only runs of the game with a second inning home run and a third inning double, going 2-for-

Aug. 2, 2017

Scrappy Na Kyung-min finds place in power-hitting Giants lineup

The Lotte Giants have gained a reputation as a power-hitting team, and they have the bats to back it up, with names like Lee Dae-ho, Kang Min-ho, Jeon Joon-woo and Choi Jun-seok. But Lotte is not just a one-dimensional team of sluggers; they also have players, like center fielder Na Kyung-min, who are defined not by their power, but by their hustle and scrappy play.Na took a circuitous path to join the Giants. He graduated high school in 2009 and signed with the Chicago Cubs to try and make in M

Aug. 1, 2017

Baseball manager sidelined with benign brain tumor

South Korean baseball club NC Dinos said Tuesday their manager Kim Kyung-moon will be sidelined indefinitely with a benign brain tumor.The Korea Baseball Organization club said Kim has been diagnosed with a small benign tumor in his pituitary gland. The Dinos said while an operation won't be necessary, Kim has been advised to take a few more days of rest.Kim left last Friday's game against the KT Wiz in Suwon, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, with dizziness and symptoms of acute indigestion. H

Aug. 1, 2017

In remembering Marlins’ Fernandez, Nationals’ Gonzalez spins a gem

On what would have been Jose Fernandez’s 25th birthday, his friend and Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez stepped onto the mound at Fernandez’ old home, Marlins Park in Miami, and pitched a gem befitting of the Marlins’ erstwhile ace, throwing eight innings of no-hit ball, and striking out 5.Fernandez, who died in a boating accident last September, was remembered by the 18,962 fans in attendance, including his daughter, mother and grandmother.  Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Go

Aug. 1, 2017

Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox big winners at MLB trade deadline

The Los Angeles Dodgers were the biggest buyers during the deadline for the Major League Baseball player-trade on Monday, adding pitching reinforcements to solidify an already strong roster as the presumptive World Series favorites. The Dodgers, in first place in the National League West at 74-31 with a commanding 14 game lead, were already a virtual lock for the playoffs. Playoff predictors from sites such as Fangraphs and FiveThirtyEight both put the Dodgers at over 99 percent odds to take the

Aug. 1, 2017