Misjudgment protest to red card, epic match, and why he was sent off… “I made a mistake,” says Lee.
It was an unfair decision for KT. Manager Lee Kang-cheol was even ejected for protesting the call.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven Korean Series between LG and KT at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 11. The game was a back-and-forth affair. As KT tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, manager Lee Kang-cheol was ejected for arguing with the umpire.
Trailing 7-8 in the bottom of the ninth, KT’s leadoff hitter Alford struck out swinging against LG’s Ko Woo-seok. Park Kyung-soo came to the plate and was replaced by Kim Jun-tae. On a 2-ball-1 strike, Kim Jun-tae tried to swing at a four-pitch fastball and stopped. Umpire Jeon Il-soo checked with third base umpire Choi Soo-soo to see if it was a check swing. Umpire Choi Soo-soo ruled it a “false swing.
However, Kim Jun-tae stopped his bat, which was clearly visible in the TV replay. KBS commentator Yoon Hee-sang, who broadcast the game, noted that “the bat didn’t turn” while watching the replay.
Head coach Lee Kang-cheol came out to the field to appeal the call from the dugout. Lee protested to the umpire, but the call was not overturned. Lee walked back to the third base umpire, Choi Soo-soo. Lee continued to appeal near the third base, surrounded by Choi and other umpires. After a few moments, umpire Choi Soo-soo turned to Lee and called him out. It appears that Lee used profanity in his protest.
After the game, Lee briefly commented on the situation, saying, “I made a mistake, that’s why I was sent off.”
Moments later, the game resumed. The umpires explained that the manager was ejected for protesting the call. Kim Jun-tae was hit by a pitch. He was replaced by Shin Bon-ki, and pinch-hitter Jung Jun-young came to the plate for Song Min-seop.
Moon Sung-ju, the left fielder, made a sliding catch on Jung’s pitch, but the catch was not good enough. A single to left put runners on first and second, and LG switched pitchers from Ko Woo-seok to Lee Jung-yong. A wild pitch at the plate put runners on first and second and third. LG sent Bae Joo-dae to the plate with a high four-pitch walk to load the bases. Kim Sang-soo hit the second pitch, and a pitcher-catcher-first baseman double play ended the game for KT. 아톰카지노 도메인
It was one of the best games of the Korean Series, but it was marred by umpire errors and the manager’s ejection.
KT gave up an early three-run homer to Austin in the third inning, but capitalized on an error in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. LG took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning when Park Dong-won hit a two-run homer. It looked like the nightmare of Park Dong-won’s two-run homer in the eighth inning of Game 2 would come back to haunt KT, but they got a single from Hwang Jae-gyun to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth and a two-run homer over the left-center field fence by Park Byung-ho, their No. 4 hitter.
KT was unable to close out the top of the ninth. Closer Kim Jae-yoon came on and gave up an infield single to leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki. He walked Park Hae-min and Kim Hyun-soo to load the bases and gave up a single to Austin. With runners on first and second, Kim Jae-yoon gave up a game-tying three-run homer to Oh Ji-hwan over the right field fence. LG tied the game at 8-7.