KBO Roundup: Homers and strikeouts and bat flips, oh my!

The KBO has reached the tenth day of its nascent 2020 season and the excitement continues as the league — with the exception of the CPBL — is the only show in town right now in wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. While the level and style of play is not quite what most North Americans are accustomed to, it is still highly entertaining an much better than the alternative.

Former Detroit Tiger Dixon Machado has cooled off quite a bit in recent days, but is still managing some production on offense for the Lotte Giants. The infielder went 0-3 with an RBI on Thursday while managing just one hit in five at-bats with two RBIs on Friday against the Doosan Bears.

Here is a look at how some of the others performed around the league.

May 14: Dinos sneak past Wiz in pitcher’s duel

KT Wiz 0, NC Dinos 1

The best game on Thursday featured a nail-biting pitcher’s duel between KT’s Bae Je-seong and NC’s Koo Chang-mo. The latter got the upper hand in this game, throwing his second-straight scoreless start en route to his second win of the season for the Dinos behind a league-leading 10 strikeouts over eight innings while allowing just four hits and a walk. Bae was not too shabby himself, tossing seven scoreless frames though he did allow seven hits and a walk while striking out seven. Reliever Lee Sang-hwa took the loss after allowing second baseman Park Min-woo — who led off the inning with a single and stole second — to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth. Though he made it close, allowing two two-out singles and uncorking a wild pitch to put runners in scoring position, Dinos closer Won Jong-hyun shut the door to earn the save. Park, who was responsible for the winning run, was the offensive spark plug on the day, going 3-4 with a double and a stolen base.

Other results:

Kia Tigers 1, Hanwha Eagles 4

W: Jang Min-jae; L: Drew Gagnon; SV: Jung Woo-ram

Doosan Bears 7, Lotte Giants 4

W: Chris Flexen; L: Park Se-woong

SK Wyverns 2, LG Twins 3

W: Lee Sang-gyu; L: Kim Ju-on

Samsung Lions 8, Kiwoom 5

W: Choi Chae-heung; L: Kim Sang-su

May 15: Dinos pummel Wyverns in extra innings

NC Dinos 6, SK Wyverns 2

Do not let the final score fool you, this game was a close one through the first nine innings, with both starting pitchers holding their own. Though he did not figure in the win, NC’s Lee Jae-hak sent a solid six innings, giving just one run on a solo shot by left fielder Oh Jun-hyeok in the sixth; otherwise, he looked good, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out four. Opposite of Oh was Moon Seung-won, who allowed two earned runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter while striking out seven in the no-decision. The Wyverns tied the score in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extras on a series of walks and a wild pitch, after which the Dinos exploded in the top of the tenth scoring four earned runs off of reliever Seo Jin-yong on two hits, two walks and a hit batter for the loss. Second baseman Park Min-woo was the offensive stud in this game as well, going 4-6 with a double and two RBIs — including a run-scoring single during the tenth-inning rally.

Other results:

Lotte Giants 1, Hanwha Eagles 2

W: Kim Ee-whan; L: Dan Straily; SV: Jung Woo-ram

Doosan Bears 13, Kia Tigers 4

W: Yu Hui-kwan; L: Im Ki-young

Samsung Lions 6, KT Wiz 14

W: So Hyeong-jun L: Kwon Oh-jun

Kiwoom Heroes vs. LG Twins

Canceled due to rain

Coming up:

Saturday, May 16

Lotte Giants vs. Hanwha Eagles (1:00 a.m. ET)

Kiwoom Heroes vs. LG Twins (1:00 a.m. ET)

NC Dinos vs. SK Wyverns (4:00 a.m. ET)

Doosan Bears vs. Kia Tigers (4:00 a.m. ET)

Samsung Lions vs. KT Wiz (4:00 a.m. ET)

Kiwoom Heroes vs. LG Twins (4:30 a.m. ET)

Sunday, May 17

Lotte Giants vs. Hanwha Eagles (1:00 a.m. ET)

NC Dinos vs. SK Wyverns (1:00 a.m. ET)

Doosan Bears vs. Kia Tigers (1:00 a.m. ET)

Samsung Lions vs. KT Wiz (1:00 a.m. ET)

Kiwoom Heroes vs. LG Twins (1:00 a.m. ET)

You can watch all of the games live or on delay using the Twitch app. Click here for a the link to the channel