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Only one team before has ever come back from so far behind
October 20, 2009
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“SK players looked sluggish,” said Kia Manager Cho Beom-hyun. “However, we cannot get over confident since they are a good team. They are the type that can come back from a two game deficit and win four in a row. We will approach every game as if it was game seven,” Playing in the Korean Series for the first time in 12 years, Kia sits comfortably on a two game lead and is looking to win its 10th Korean Series title in club history. However, SK has a glimmer of hope. The lone team to climb back from a two-game-to-none deficit in the series was the SK squad in 2007. It also came back in the second round playoff series this year against Doosan before taking the next three games to win the series.
Game three starters It will be an All-American affair in Incheon as SK will send Gary Glover in the crucial game three tonight to face Kia’s Rick Guttormson. Glover is the most reliable starter in SK’s rotation at this point and boasts a solid record against the Tigers in the regular season. Glover possesses a fastball that clocks in at around 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour), and a forkball, and SK will need a strong start from the American to win the crucial game. He is not in top physical condition, however, and he missed his expected start in game one. He had a poor start in his last game - game four against the Doosan Bears during the second round. He gave up three runs on five hits including a three-run home run in two innings of work. In one start and two appearances in relief duty, Glover managed to record a 2.08 ERA and had one save. In his lone start against the Tigers on August 9 in Gunsan, North Jeolla, Glover gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Kia’s Guttormson proved his worth in his rookie KBO season by posting 13 wins and four losses with a 3.24 ERA to earn a spot on the All-Star team in the regular season. Guttormson boasts a 145 kilometers per hour fastball, a cut fastball and a slider. While Guttormson pitched well, he was not particularly strong against SK in the regular season, posing a two win and two loss record with a 3.83 ERA. Kia’s starting rotation Kia’s strong starting rotation proved to be the key to the first two games as Kia took the series lead on solid outings from Aquilino Lopez in game one and Yoon Seok-min in game two. Lopez gave up three runs in eight innings and veteran outfielder Lee Jong-beom managed to drive in runs in crucial situations as Kia topped SK 5-3 in game one. Yoon Seok-min did not give up a run in seven innings of work in Saturday’s 2-1 win. By Jason Kim [jason@joongang.co.kr] |
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