Nexen offense gets hot just in time for championship series

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- The Nexen Heroes' offense was simply too hot for the LG Twins' pitchers to handle on Friday, as the Heroes demolished their Seoul rivals 12-2 to claim the second round Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff series in four games.

After mediocre offensive performances in the first two games of the best-of-five series, the Heroes' bats appeared to have gone too cold for the team to contend.

By the end of Friday's game, though, earlier concerns seemed like a distant memory.

Their two biggest sluggers were once at the center of the problems. Cleanup hitter Park Byung-ho, the league leader with 52 home runs and 124 RBIs in the regular season, went 1-for-7 in the first two games. Kang Jung-ho, the No. 5 hitter who set a new league single-season record for a shortstop with 40 home runs, did have three hits in eight at-bats, but also struck out four times.

With a thin starting rotation and a taxed bullpen, the Heroes needed their bats to come alive. And they did just in time, and the Heroes, who joined the KBO in 2008, made their first-ever championship Korean Series.

Kang exploded over the final two games of the series, both Nexen victories. He was 5-for-7 with two home runs and four RBIs, and was voted the MVP of the series.

Park didn't leave the yard, but showed some signs of life in Game 4, going 3-for-4 with a double, his first extra-base hit of the series.

While Kang and Park were struggling earlier in the series, No. 3 hitter Yoo Han-joon picked up the slack, providing some much-needed power with homers in Games 2 and 3.

In Game 4, it was the No. 6 hitter, Kim Min-sung, who joined the fray. He drove in a run in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, and hit a towering three-run bomb in the fifth.

With the Heroes comfortably leading 9-2 in the eighth, Kim delivered one last blow to the Twins with a three-run double off the center field wall.

He had seven RBIs for the night, a new KBO record for a postseason game.

In the regular season, the Heroes had four hitters with at least 20 home runs and 90 RBIs. And leadoff man Seo Geon-chang collected a league-record 201 hits and won the batting title with a .370 average.

While the power hitters appeared to have their groove back, Seo is still trying to find his stroke, after going 3-for-16 in four games against the Twins.

If Seo returns to his usual pesky self at the top of the order, even the Lions -- who had the second-best ERA in the regular season and have built a dynasty with a shutdown bullpen -- could have trouble against the KBO's equivalent of the Murderers' Row.

Friday's two biggest offensive heroes said they're already looking forward to the Korean Series.

Kim quipped that he hoped his record of seven RBIs in one playoff game will never be broken, and the big night gave him plenty of confidence.

"I think I will be able to deliver some big hits on a big stage," he said. "Now that we've made it to the Korean Series, we would all like to win the championship."

Kang said some of the slumping hitters became a bit passive at the plate but they became their usual, aggressive selves after Game 3.

"After that, we started swinging the bat with more confidence," he added. "I think I will be a bit nervous in my first Korean Series, but it will also be a lot of fun."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)