Tigers stay on top with Twins trailing as Eagles tap veteran Kim Kyung-moon

Baseball

Published: 03 Jun. 2024, 14:14 Updated: 03 Jun. 2024, 16:35

Tigers stay on top with Twins trailing as Eagles tap veteran Kim Kyung-moon

LG Twins' Austin Dean celebrates after hitting a two-run home run at the top of the ninth inning during a game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul on Sunday. [NEWS1]

The Kia Tigers extended their reign at the top of the KBO table for an eighth straight week while the LG Twins climbed into second and the struggling Hanwha Eagles swept and got swept and announced a new manager, Olympic gold-winning Kim Kyung-moon.

The Tigers swept the NC Dinos on the road before giving up a series 2-1 to the KT Wiz at home over the weekend but remain in the lead as of Monday with 35 wins, 22 losses and one draw.

It was a week that brought a shake-up to the Tigers’ roster with the Gwangu club signing left-handed pitcher Cam Alldred as a temporary replacement for their injured ace Wil Crowe, who is set to undergo surgery on his right elbow.

Alldred, 27, joined the Tigers for an annual salary of $300,000 and a $25,000 signing bonus and has a career 4.15 ERA over 174 games in the minor leagues.

The league leaders are the second club to capitalize on the KBO’s new alternative foreign player recruitment system, which allows clubs to temporarily replace an injured foreign player without using one of their two allotted switch-ups per season.

The SSG Landers in May brought in Keisho Shirakawa, 22, for $11,500. Alternative foreign players can earn up to $100,000 per month under the KBO rule.

The Twins secured a midweek win over the Landers — 7-5, 13-4, 2-8 — while the Bears beat the KT Wiz 3-12, 12-6, 6-1 and the Kiwoom Heroes beat the Samsung Lions 4-3, 11-5, 2-4 for what would have been a surprising sweep on the road.

The Hanwha Eagles pulled off the only other sweep of the week’s first set of games, beating the Lotte Giants 12-3, 3-0, 15-0 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon before their series against the Lions in Daegu over the weekend.

Things took a turn for the Eagles, who lost 6-8, 4-6, 0-1 to the Lions and fell back into eighth place after briefly moving one spot higher.

Homecoming king Ryu Hyun-jin, who has had a mediocre start to his KBO return with a 4.50 ERA over 11 games, was taken out before Friday’s game due to issues in his right elbow. And later during that game, Eagles outfielder Yonathan Perlaza left the field on a stretcher after slamming into the wall to make a catch.

Then, on Sunday, the Eagles announced former Korean national baseball team manager Kim, 65, who led Korea to a gold medal in 2008, as their new head. It was a quick turnaround in Daejeon, as Kim’s appointment comes a week after former Eagles manager Choi Won-ho resigned due to the team’s poor performance.

Former national team manager Kim Kyung-moon was tapped to lead the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Kim previously managed the Bears from 2004 to 2011 and then helmed the Dinos from 2011 to 2018, when the Dinos ended the season in last place.

Also over the weekend, the Twins swept the Bears 6-3, 8-5, 9-1 at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul, their derby win lifting them to second place on the 10-team table with 34 wins, 24 losses and two draws. The Landers swept the Heroes 4-2, 9-0, 6-2 while the Giants managed a win over the Dinos, 13-5, 2-4, 13-4 to end the week in 9th place.

Moving into this week, the Lions face the Landers in Incheon, the Giants take on the leading Tigers in Gwangju, the Bears meet the Dinos in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, the Heroes play the Twins at Jamsil and the Eagles make their debut under Kim against the Wiz in Suwon.

Over the weekend, the Landers play the Giants in Busan, the Lions meet the Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, the Tigers face the Bears at Jamsil, the Twins head down to Suwon to play the Wiz and the Eagles host the Dinos at home in Daejeon.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]