Backed by dominant pitching, LG beats Doosan to even KBO playoff series

The LG Twins blanked the Doosan Bears 2-0 on Thursday to knot their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff series at one game apiece, backed by a dominant performance by their flame-throwing starter.

Radhames Liz struck out 10 and gave up only one hit in eight overpowering innings for the victorious side at Jamsil Stadium, and leadoff Park Yong-taik went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI to back the right-hander.

The third game will be back at Jamsil at 2 p.m. Saturday. Since both teams share Jamsil as their home, they will simply switch dugouts throughout the series without leaving the stadium.

The Bears will be the home team and will use the first base side of the dugout for Game 3 and Game 4 on Sunday. Both weekend games will start at 2 p.m.

Liz was only 1-3 against the Bears during the regular season with a 4.87 ERA in four starts, but he overwhelmed Doosan hitters with a lethal mix of hard fastballs and sharp curves on this night.

Nine of his 10 strikeouts were swinging, as Liz reached 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) with his fastball.

The 30-year-old from the Dominican Republic led the regular season with 188 strikeouts in 202 2/3 innings.

He didn't give up a hit in the first four innings, and the fifth-inning single by Hong Sung-heun was the only hit the Bears mustered. Liz also walked only two batters, after walking 16 Bears in 20 1/3 innings during the regular season.

Closer Bong Jung-keun pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

In the 4-2 loss Wednesday, the Twins managed only four hits, and just one after scoring twice in the first inning. On Thursday, they got to Doosan pitching early and often.

The Twins chased Doosan's starter Lee Jae-woo in the two-run second inning. Lee walked the first two batters of the inning, and after a sacrifice bunt, Yoon Yo-sup drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to right. Park Yong-taik then followed up with an RBI double to the left field corner.

The Twins had a runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings. In the third, they loaded the bases with two outs with a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch, but Son Joo-in flied out to shallow right.

In the bottom fourth, Lee Jin-young came to the plate with one out and runners on second and third, but hit a grounder to first that got Yoon Yo-sup in a rundown. Cleanup Jeong Seong-hoon followed up with a pop out to second.

Lee Jin-young had a chance to redeem himself in the sixth with a runner on third after one out, but he hit a hard grounder to second and Park Yong-taik was easily tagged out at home. Jeong again hit a pop up to second.

The Twins had a chance to put some insurance on board in the bottom eighth. Son Joo-in hit a leadoff single and reached third after an error and a sacrifice bunt, but was picked off by catcher Choi Jae-hoon.

Park Yong-taik promptly hit his second double of the game, but he was tagged out at home on a following single by Kim Yong-eui. 

Liz didn't need much run support on this night. He issued 88 walks during the regular season, second-highest total, but walked just two batters in this game. He threw 107 pitches, 76 of them for strikes. (Yonhap News)