(LEAD) Heroes beat Wyverns in extra innings to open 2nd round in KBO playoffs

(ATTN: ADDS details, Game 2 starters)
By Yoo Jee-ho

INCHEON, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- The Kiwoom Heroes edged out the SK Wyverns 3-0 in extra innings on the road to open the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoffs on Monday, handing the defending champions a loss at the start of their title defense.

The Heroes snapped a string of zeroes with three runs in the top of the 11th, and closer Oh Ju-won slammed the door shut in the bottom 11th to finish off the grueling win at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul.

In the second round, the team that won Game 1 has gone on to win the series 23 out of 29 times so far.

Game two of this best-of-five series is back in Incheon at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The marathon affair lasted nearly five hours and saw a combined 17 pitchers. There were 19 hits and 12 walks.

The teams traded zeroes for 10 innings but the lack of run production wasn't for lack of chances.

The Heroes almost broke the ice in the top of the first, but Lee Jung-hoo committed a baserunning gaffe that set the tone for the night, getting thrown out at first after a wide turn following his bloop single to shallow center.

Lee's hit came with Seo Geon-chang at first with one out. Even before the ball dropped, Seo made a quick and ultimately smart decision to take third.

And Lee, apparently thinking the ball would be thrown to third, headed for second. But shortstop Kim Sung-hyun got the cutoff throw and gunned down Lee at first base for the second out of the inning.

The next batter, Park Byung-ho, drew a walk, but Jerry Sands flied out to deep left to end the inning. It would have been a sacrifice fly if not for Lee's flub.

SK starter Kim Kwang-hyun settled down after the chaotic first inning in which he threw 24 pitches. Kim struck out five straight batters in one stretch and had eight Ks through five innings, though he needed 92 pitches to get through those frames.

Kim pitched around a pair of two-out singles in the fourth, and again a one-out single in the fifth to keep the Heroes scoreless before the bullpen took over to begin the sixth.

Kiwoom starter Jake Brigham wasn't as dominant as Kim but was more efficient, holding the Wyverns to two hits through five innings on 77 pitches. He had three strikeouts and eight groundouts over his first five frames.

Choi Hang drew a walk with one out in the fifth but was caught stealing second. On the next pitch, Kim Sung-hyun singled to right to keep Brigham on his toes, but the right-hander got Ro Soo-kwang to ground out to close out the inning.

The Wyverns couldn't cash in with the bases loaded in the bottom sixth, with another baserunning miscue that would haunt them.

Kim Kang-min led off the inning with a single but was picked off at first base, becoming the second Wyverns runner to get thrown out.

Ko Jong-wook worked a six-pitch walk to chase Brigham from the game, and new pitcher Cho Sang-woo sandwiched a strikeout with two more free passes to load the bases for Lee Jae-won. But Cho escaped the jam as Lee flied out to right on just two pitches.

The Heroes squandered a huge opportunity of their own in the top seventh. A walk and a single put runners at the corners with one out for Kim Ha-seong, he of 104 RBIs during the regular season. But Kim swung on the first pitch from reliever Seo Jin-yong and popped out to shortstop, and Lee Jung-hoo followed that with a flyout.

The Heroes put men at first and second with two outs in the eighth, and they each moved up a base on a passed ball with No. 8 hitter Kim Hye-seong at the plate.

Now with two runners in scoring position, Kim hit a sharp comebacker to the mound, but reliever Jung Young-il fielded it and tossed to first to kill off another Kiwoom rally.

In the top ninth, Kim Ha-seong and Park Byung-ho both came up empty, while the Wyverns wasted a two-out single in the bottom ninth to send the game to extra innings.

After more zeroes in the 10th inning, Seo Geon-chang hit a one-out double off Moon Seung-won in the top 11th for the first extra-base hit of the game.

Then Kim Ha-seong, who popped out in two previous at-bats with men in scoring position, hammered a double off the wall in left-center field to finally give the Heroes a 1-0 lead.

Lee Jung-hoo then atoned for his first-inning baserunning mishap with an RBI single to shallow left, putting the Heroes up 2-0.

Two batters later, Jerry Sands singled up the middle for a 3-0 advantage,

The Wyverns tried to mount a desperate rally in the bottom 11th, but Jamie Romak was stranded after leading off the inning with a double.

The Heroes will send right-hander Choi Won-tae to the mound for Game 2. Choi was 11-5 with a 3.38 ERA in the regular season. He faced the Wyverns six times in the regular season, more than any other opponents, and went 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA.

The Wyverns will try to even the series with Dominican right-hander Angel Sanchez on the mound. Sanchez, who went 17-5 with a 2.62 ERA in the regular season, was excellent against the Heroes, with a 1-0 mark and a 1.64 ERA in two starts.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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