After a Game 1 pitching-lovers delight  Doosan and SK put on a power display in a  hard fought contest  in Incheon Tuesday night. In the end the  Bears gutted out a 6-3 win to give them a commanding two-games-to-zero lead in the Korean series.

SK got on the board quickly against  Matt Randel with a first inning  2-run HR by Lee Ho-jun. However, the lead was short-lived as  Goh Yeong-min countered with a shot off the  cherubic SK starter Chae Byung-yeong  over the left-field fence to tie the game in the 3rd.

The team’s traded longballs  again in the 5th, Doosan scoring on a  towering shot off the bat of catcher Chae Sang-byung and SK’s Joh Dong-hwa lining one over the right field wall. The shot was Joh’s first of the year and second of in his 5-year career.

In the 6th the game was halted for an odd incident you’d probably only ever see in Korean baseball.  Following  a single by Goh, Chae proceeded to (accidentally) hit the next batter, Kim Dong-ju  on the left shoulder.

Chae, frustrated with  himself, quickly tipped his cap to Kim in apology, but apparently Kim, a ten-year veteran of the league,  was insulted by the haphazard, hurried  apology, and started walking toward the mound yelling “I’m your senior! Apologize correctly!” Chae went from perplexed to livid, walking toward home plate as both benches and bullpens cleared.  

No punches were thrown, but there was a lot of screaming and holding people back, and, in the end, some face saving by the SK management who came on to the field and  bitched  at  umpires because they’d chosen to warn  Chae  ove the incident.

The next batter Hong Sung-hun advanced the runners with  a gutsy 2-strike bunt. Chae struck out the next batter, pumping his fist and springing his 250+ lb. body in the air in celebration.

Chae then  had the next batter Lee  Dae-soo in an 0-2 hole, but threw three consecutive balls before the 7th  offering was tapped into shallow  center field, bouncing off center-fielder Kim Kang-min’s glove for a 2-run single–giving  Doosan a lead they’d keep for good.

While Lee would later be  named the game’s MVP for the  timely hit, a strong case has to be made for Im Tae-hoon, the 20-year-old shoo-in for Rookie of the Year who entered the game in the 6th inning with no outs and  runners on first and second. After getting out of that jam, Im  would  surrender just one  hit over the next four innings to close out the game.

Despite giving up the three runs Doosan starter Randel looked better than his 3ER in 5INN line  might indicate.  His curveball and breaking pitches had good movement most of the game, but the few bad pitches he made ended up in the seats.  Still, he got the win.

The series will now move to Seoul for three games at Doosan’s Jamsil stadium. With  Daniel Rios looming in the background for a potential Game 4 start, Game 3 becomes  essential for the Wyvrens–not  just for a shot at  a comeback–but to avoid  a sweep.