Another day another close game split wide open in the 6th inning punctuated with a fight. But just as the tension naturally rose from games 2 to 3–so did the runs, as did the brawl.

Heading into the 6th SK held to a 2-0 lead with pitcher Michael Romano cruising through the Doosan lineup. Romano kept the Doosan batters off balance all night, throwing high and tight, brushing every other batter off the plate and generally dominating.

In the 6th, with a steady rain beginning to fall at Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium, SK got two quick hits, putting runners at first and third and knocking Doosan starter Kim Myung-jae from the game. Lefty Lee Ho-jun was brought in and two pitches later a missed sign by batter Kim Kang-min resulted in an errant squeeze play, seemingly getting Doosan out of the inning.

But then…

Yes, then. The moments that, should they lose the series the Doosan players will have etched into their memories however long their respective careers last. Kim hit a grounder to Lee Dae-soo that the Game 2 hero wasn’t able to field cleanly. It could have been called an error, but wasn’t.  

On what was probably the key play of the game a ground ball was hit to third-baseman Kim Dong-ju, who instead of making an easy tag on the runner coming to third, threw to first. It wasn’t close and suddenly the bases were full. 

On what would be the first of several 0-2 counts on SK batters Choi Jung hit a weak ball to Lee at short, who again didn’t field the ball cleanly, allowing a runner to score. To be fair, there was some obstruction by the runner, however Lee was charged with an error.

On another 0-2 count Park Kyung-won, a .228 hitter on the year, stroked a double to the wall scoring two more, putting SK up by a 5-0 count.

With a base open and the game starting to unravel Lee plucked Jung Gun-woo on the rear, reloading the bases. The next batter Jo Dong-hwa, again down 0-2, hit a short pop fly to short. If there’d been any doubt as to whether Lee’s two previous were rightfully scored errors, he erased any doubt on his third play of the inning by flat out dropping the ball. Then, in a true moment of Bad News Bearsness, Lee nearly threw the ball into the SK dugout. Two more runs scored. Lee was removed from the game the following inning.

With Doosan verge of a total implosion, SK seized the opportunity to rub the Bear’s noses in their own pile of dung by, on a pitch likely headed for the batter’s legs, sending the runner Jo from third on a clean steal of home.

The ball skidded to the backstop, allowing the other run to score. The SK dugout exploded, mobbing Jo as he came to the dugout. SK 9 Doosan 0.

It’s possible there was someone in the stadium didn’t know where the next pitch was headed, but as it sailed behind the batter’s head and the benches cleared, it’s likely they remained passed out in one of the aisles or bathrooms. Several punches were thrown and it went on for a good 10 minutes.

And who would be in the middle of it all, but the future MVP of the league and possible Game 4 starter Daniel Rios, who, for a guy not in the game, was positively beside himself.

Kim Dong-ju, who’s missed tag at third arguably opened the door for the inning, was also steaming, and just as fracas was starting to clear, threw a bat toward the SK dugout to strike up the band again. 

Interestingly, only the pitcher Lee was tossed. As he entered the dugout he was promptly smacked on the head with a water bottle thrown by a fan.

As the old adage persists–you can only win one game at a time. Well, maybe not because SK psyhologically seemed to have won two or three tonight. Romano gets the win, going six strong innings, and yielding just four hits. Sixteen hits for SK, four errors for Doosan.

The teams will square off again Friday–Kim Gwang-hyun throwing for SK and Rios coming on three days rest for Doosan.