Shortstop comes through for family, backs strong bullpen in Korean Series win

유지호 / 2020-11-20 23:03:18

Korean Series-players

▲ Kim Kang-ryul of the Doosan Bears pitches against the NC Dinos in the top of the fifth inning of Game 3 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 20, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Jae-ho of the Doosan Bears (L) speaks with his daughter before Game 3 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 20, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Jae-ho of the Doosan Bears celebrates his RBI single against the NC Dinos in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 3 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 20, 2020. (Yonhap)

Korean Series-players

Shortstop comes through for family, backs strong bullpen in Korean Series win

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- He was playing in a tie game in the South Korean baseball championship series on Friday. The other team was bringing in a new pitcher as he was waiting on deck.

Through all this, Doosan Bears' shortstop Kim Jae-ho was so relaxed he spent a few minutes chatting with his children in the stands during that pitching change.

In the seventh inning of Game 3 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears, the 35-year-old veteran posed for photos as his son held up his smartphone, and bumped fists with his daughter through the backstop netting.

A few minutes later, their daddy went out and delivered a tiebreaking single. It gave the Bears a 7-6 lead, and hung on to win by the same score.

One small step for the baseball team. One giant leap for all fathers.

As Kim headed toward first base, he pointed toward his family with a knowing smile, as if to tell his children, "I told you." Then once he reached the bag, he made a heart sign with his hands.

It was the third RBI of the game for Kim, who has emerged as an unlikely offensive star of the series. In the Bears' 5-4 victory in Game 2 Wednesday, Kim hit his first career postseason home run and drove in two runs.

Friday's contest was an entertaining back-and-forth affair that saw four lead changes through the first four innings.

Kim broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run single in the bottom third. The Dinos reclaimed the lead in a three-run fourth inning, and the Bears knotted the score at 6-6 in the top fifth.

In the decisive seventh, Kim came on with runners at the corners. The bat broke on contact but Kim got enough of the ball to dump it into center field for a run-scoring single.

On the mound, reliever Kim Kang-ryul was the adult in the room when most other pitchers had trouble throwing strikes. He came on in the fourth to put out the fire after the Dinos took a 6-5 lead. Kim sat down the first seven batters he faced and tossed 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball.

Park Chi-guk, who followed Kim, earned the victory 1 1/3 shutout innings. Lee Seung-jin nailed down a four-out save.

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