Struggling left-handers to take mound in pivotal Korean Series game

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- As the South Korean baseball championship round shifts to a new city, two pitchers who have not looked particularly sharp of late will toe the rubber in a pivotal game Friday.

The SSG Landers and the Kiwoom Heroes split the first two games of the Korean Series earlier in the week at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul. The Heroes will host the next two in this best-of-seven showdown at Gocheok Sky Dome in the capital city.

For Game 3, the Heroes will send left-hander Eric Jokisch to the hill. The Landers will counter with left-hander Oh Won-seok.

Jokisch had an excellent regular season, finishing inside the top 10 in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in ERA, strikeouts and innings. But he has not pitched as well this postseason.

Jokisch threw 26 pitches in 1 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in Tuesday's Game 1, when he gave up two runs -- one unearned -- on two hits. His previous postseason start came Oct. 25 against the LG Twins in the previous round: Jokisch allowed five runs, two of them unearned, on eight hits in four innings against the LG Twins.

Jokisch went 0-1 in three regular season starts against the Landers and had a 4.15 ERA, his second-worst mark against an opposing team this year.

Outfielder/first baseman Oh Tae-gon batted 3-for-7 with two doubles against Jokisch. Six other hitters had at least two hits against the left-hander, including former major leaguers Choo Shin-soo and Juan Lagares.

Oh Won-seok will be making his first postseason appearance. He pitched to a 4.50 ERA and a 6-8 record in 24 starts and seven relief appearances in the regular season. He faded badly down the stretch, losing three of his four starts in September before getting shuffled to the bullpen. He put up a 5.28 ERA in his final eight outings, covering 29 innings.

Oh struggled mightily against the Heroes in the regular season. He was 0-3 in seven games with an 8.14 ERA, with 22 earned runs on 30 hits, including five home runs, in 24 1/3 innings.

Yasiel Puig feasted on Oh, with three home runs in 11 at-bats. Kim Hye-seong, who has started the Korean Series, batting 0-for-9, went 4-for-13 against Oh.

The Landers had planned on starting Shawn Morimando in Game 3. But they brought him out of the bullpen in Game 1, and he threw 39 pitches in 1 2/3 innings, while being charged with the loss in the Heroes' 7-6 extra-inning victory.

SSG manager Kim Won-hyong said he decided to go with Oh, because two days of break wouldn't be enough for Morimando between Game 1 and Game 3.

This likely means Morimando will start Game 4 on Saturday, with Game 1 starter Kim Kwang-hyun available for Game 5 next Monday after five days' rest.

The Heroes don't have the luxury of four starting pitchers. Ideally, they would have gone with Game 1 starter An Woo-jin on three days' rest in Game 4, but An was pulled early in that opening game with a blister on his right middle finger. He remains doubtful for Game 4, and the Heroes are hoping he will be available for the fifth or sixth game of the series if it goes that long.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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