Dinos' maligned bullpen comes through in Korean Series Game 1 victory

▲ Lim Chang-min of the NC Dinos pitches against the Doosan Bears in the top of the eighth inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Lim Jung-ho of the NC Dinos pitches against the Doosan Bears in the top of the eighth inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Jin-sung of the NC Dinos pitches against the Doosan Bears in the top of the seventh inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ NC Dinos' closer Won Jong-hyan celebrates a 5-3 victory over the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

Korean Series-bullpen

Dinos' maligned bullpen comes through in Korean Series Game 1 victory

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- The bullpen that had at times trouble keeping opponents off the board this year came through Tuesday night, as the NC Dinos rode their relievers to a 5-3 victory over the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the Korean Series.

After starter Drew Rucinski went 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs, the Dinos sent out five relievers to get the last 11 outs while only allowing one inherited runner to score.

It was an encouraging performance by a unit that ranked fifth in the league with a 4.84 ERA in the regular season and had been viewed as the weak link on a team that otherwise dominated the competition.

Right-hander Kim Jin-sung was the first out of the pen in the sixth inning. He allowed one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly, before striking out Jung Soo-bin to limit the damage.

In the regular season, Jung had gone 2-for-2 with a home run against Kim, who got the better of the pesky hitter in the big moment.

Kim came back out to retire Park Kun-woo to begin the seventh, but once Choi Joo-hwan hit a single and two left-handed batters were due up, manager Lee Dong-wook didn't mess around.

He summoned Lim Jung-ho, considered the Dinos' most important lefty reliever in the series. Lim was to handle Jose Miguel Fernandez, the regular season hits leader, and then Kim Jae-hwan, a 30-homer slugger.

Lim didn't even need to face Kim, as Fernandez grounded into a 6-4-3, backbreaking double play.

Kim led off the eighth, and Lim struck him out swinging. His job was done.

Right-hander Hong Sung-min took over but promptly gave up a single. Though a slumping Oh Jae-il was up next and Hong had faced only one batter, manager Lee didn't like what he saw in the 31-year-old pitcher.

In came righty Lim Chang-min, a veteran of 18 postseason games, compared to none for Hong.

Lim struck out Oh and retired Park Sei-hyok, who'd earlier hit an RBI double, on a groundout.

The ninth inning belonged to the closer Won Jong-hyan, who recorded 30 saves but had a pedestrian 4.26 ERA in the regular season. And in an unusually neat outing, Won needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in order for his first career postseason save.

All told, the five relievers struck out three and gave up only two hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Bullpen decisions are always evaluated with the benefit of hindsight. If a manager gives a starter a quick hook and the next guy escapes the jam, then the manager is hailed as a genius. But if the other team scores a bunch of runs off the bullpen, then the skipper is criticized for overmanaging and not trusting his starter.

Lee Dong-wook pushed all the right buttons in Tuesday's victory.

"I went with Kim Jin-sung and Won Jong-hyan in the first game because they've all pitched in postseasons before and I felt they could handle the pressure," Lee said. "I think Hong Sung-min was shaky because he didn't have any experience."

Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said the extended break the Dinos enjoyed before the Korean Series clearly helped their 30-something relievers. The Dinos earned a bye to the Korean Series after posting the best record in the regular season, and they didn't play between their final regular season game on Oct. 31 and Game 1 of the Korean Series on Tuesday.

"Pitchers like Kim Jin-sung and Lim Chang-min (both 35) should be able to throw harder after their long layoff," the manager said. "They may have lost some bite to their pitches late in the regular season because of fatigue. But they're different pitchers now. Veterans are especially dangerous when they've had some time off."

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