Yang Hyeon-jong comes out on top in Kim Kwang-hyun face-off

Kim Kwang-hyun of the SSG Landers, left, and Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers pitch during a game at Gwangju Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Left-handed aces Kim Kwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong faced off for the first time in eight years on Tuesday, with Yang and the Kia Tigers beating Kim’s SSG Landers at Gwangju Kia Champions Field in Gwangju.

The pair — both former major leaguers, both born in 1988, both national team regulars and both veteran franchise players of their respective clubs — are considered the KBO’s top two Korean starters.

This year’s matchup came after four consecutive rain cancellations shifted the Kia rotation enough to allow Yang and Kim to face off on the mound.

On the night, it was former Texas Rangers man Yang that emerged victorious.

Yang pitched eight shutout innings to take the W, giving up six hits and one walk while striking out 10 to save his bullpen against the league leaders. Closer Jung Hae-young threw a three-up, three-down ninth to round things off, locking in a comfortable 3-0 win for the home team.

Kim, formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals, had a rougher game, giving up all three runs in his six innings of work.

After making short work of the first inning, Kim gave up a walk to open the second but quickly buckled down with just one more knock before he got out of the inning.

After sending the third inning down in order, Kim gave up a two-run long ball to Byeon Woo-hyeok in the fourth, then allowed one more run in the fifth. He stayed out for an extra inning, but the damage was already done and the three runs cost the Landers the game.

Speaking after the game, Yang said that he doesn’t consider their relationship to be a rivalry — although it has been referred to as such since Yang was a student at Gwangju Dongsung High School in Gwangju and Kim was at Ansan Technical High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi.

“Since we were in high school, we’ve always been called rivals,” Yang said. “But now we’re partners rather than rivals.

“The job is about dealing with the batters, but this kind of game inevitably comes with more pressure for me and Kwang-hyun. Today, the rotation coincidentally overlapped and we faced off. I wanted to win today, but I don’t look forward to this sort of match-up. I don’t want this kind of confrontation in the future.”

Despite their age, Yang and Kim are still considered two of the deadliest arms in the KBO.

“Young players are now coming up,” Yang said, “and I hope Kwang-hyun and I keep winning and keep continuing to play baseball for a long time without injury. That way, the young players will continue to improve as well."

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]