KBO Roundup: Former Tigers falter over the weekend as Bell and Cuevas get rocked

The Korean Baseball Organization continues to roll along as the only show in town right now for baseball fans as they await the decision of Major League Baseball’s owners and players’ union on how — as well as if — the boys of summer will take to the field this season. By now, most viewers have acclimated themselves to the different brand of baseball offered overseas, be it first inning bunts, the bat flips, the slap swings or crazy pitches, and have grown to appreciate it in the absence of big league ball.

One former big leaguer who has been closely followed by this regular report is erstwhile Detroit Tigers infielder Dixon Machado, who started off the season en fuego but has cooled to a bone-chilling freeze at the plate over the past couple of weeks. The 29-year-old Venezuelan picked up the pace a bit on Saturday, going 2-4 with a walk, though he also slid back into his slump on Sunday with an 0-5 showing with an RBI. Machado’s slashline on the season currently sits at .210 BA/.289 OBP/.696 OPS with four home runs.

Neither of the other former Tigers in action did much better in their appearances on the mound. Let us take a look at how those went.

May 30: Cuevas gets rocked, Wiz pummeled

KT Wiz 3, Kiwoom Heroes 14

This game started off innocently enough, with the Wiz and the Heroes trading goose eggs on the scoreboard for the first couple of innings, though the latter managed a single in each frame which foreshadowed was yet to come. KT got on the board first with a two-run home run off the bat of catcher Jang Sung-woo in the third — a lead that would only last until the bottom of the fourth. It was that inning that former Tiger William Cuevas, starting for the away team, began to stumble as he allowed a pair of solo dingers to tie the game up. In the following frame things broke loose and he was pulled from the game after throwing 4⅓ innings allowing five earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out two on 93 pitches to take the loss. His bullpen fared even worse, opening the floodgates in the seventh en route to a double-digit blowout. Kiwoom second baseman Kim Hye-sung led the offensive outburst on Saturday, going 4-5 and hit through the cycle — the second player in Heroes’ history to achieve the feat — along with three runs scored and four runs batted in.

Other results:

LG Twins 6, Kia Tigers 10

W: Lee Min-woo; L: Lim Chan-gyu

Hanwha Eagles 3, SK Wyverns 9

W: Ricardo Pinto; L: Jang Shi-hwan

Lotte Giants 4, Doosan Bears 5

W: Kwon Hyuk; L: Song Seung-jun

NC Dinos 1, Samsung Lions 9

W: David Buchanan; L: Mike Wright

May 31: Chad’s Bell gets rung

Hanwha Eagles 4, SK Wyverns 6

Much like Cuevas on Saturday, former Tiger Chad Bell struggled on Saturday as well throwing 3⅔ innings allowing four earned runs on five hits, five walks and a strikeout on 78 pitches in the no-decision. The 31-year-old left-hander was shaky from the start after giving up a pair of runs in the opening frame on a lead-off double, a pair of walks and a single, and continued to struggle with his control giving up another couple of base-on-balls in the second while giving up a leadoff single in the third. After a strikeout and a groundout to start the fourth inning, he gave up a double, a single and a walk before getting the hook. In an inverse from the game reviewed above, however, Bell’s bullpen did a good enough job to stop the bleeding and keep the game close the rest of the way. Former Texas Ranger Jared Hoying led the way on offense going 2-4 with a three-run home run in the losing cause on Sunday.

Other results:

KT Wiz 12, Kiwoom Heroes 8

W: Bae Je-seong; L: Lee Seung-ho

LG Twins 13, Kia Tigers 5

W: Tyler Wilson; L: Drew Gagnon

Lotte Giants 8, Doosan Bears 3

W: Lee In-bok; L: Kwon Hyuk

NC Dinos 18, Samsung Lions 7

W: Koo Chang-mo; L: Choi Chae-heung

BONUS:

Watch out!

Coming up:

Tuesday, June 2

Lotte Giants vs Kia Tigers (5:30 a.m. ET)

Doosan Bears vs. KT Wiz (5:30 a.m. ET)

SK Wyverns vs. NC Dinos (5:30 a.m. ET)

Samsung Lions vs. LG Twins (5:30 a.m. ET)

Kiwoom Heroes vs. Hanwha Eagles (5:30 a.m. ET)

Wednesday, June 3

Lotte Giants vs. Kia Tigers (5:30 a.m. ET)

Doosan Bears vs. KT Wiz (5:30 a.m. ET)

SK Wyverns vs. NC Dinos (5:30 a.m. ET)

Samsung Lions vs. LG Twins (5:30 a.m. ET)

Kiwoom Heroes vs. Hanwha Eagles (5:30 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.