Samsung’s Oh Jae-il is the “바카라Man of 10,000 RBIs. This season, he has been strong with 10 hits, five doubles, two home runs, and 16 RBIs with the bases loaded.
In the home game against NC at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on March 3, Oh Jae-il came up big with the bases loaded to save his team from a three-game losing streak.
Samsung had runners on first and third in the first inning, the bases loaded in the second inning and runners on first and second in the third inning, but couldn’t capitalize. Samsung had runners on first and third with no outs in the fourth inning when Kim Dong-jin and Kim Ho-jae hit back-to-back singles. Samsung’s bench made a gamble by bringing in Ryu Ji-hyuk to pinch-hit for Lee Byung-heon. Ryu tied the game at 1-1 with a single off the side of the first baseman.
Kim Hyun-joon and Kim Sung-yoon followed with back-to-back singles to make it 3-1. Koo Ja-rook grounded out to first base, but both runners advanced. Jose Pirela drew a walk to load the bases.
Oh Jae-il was at the plate. On a 3B-1S count with NC’s second pitcher, Yong-Jun Lee, he pulled a five-pitch fastball for a double that rolled to the right field fence. Both runners came home to extend the lead to 6-1. Considering that the starting pitcher was ace David Buchanan, it was practically the game-winner.
Courtesy of the Samsung Lions
“Oh Jae-il had good timing and took advantage of fastballs in the 3B-1S count,” said SBS Sports commentator Lee Soon-cheol, who commentated on the game, “Samsung had a lot more leeway with Buchanan on the mound.”
Samsung snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over NC. On the mound, Buchanan earned the win with 6⅔ innings of five-hit ball, two walks, four strikeouts, and one earned run, while offensively, Oh Jae-il led the way with a 5-for-5 performance with two doubles and three RBIs.
“It’s a weekend and we had a lot of fans here, so I’m really happy to get the win,” Oh said after the game. “When the team was winning, we were in a situation where we needed extra runs, so I went to the plate with the mindset that I had to hit. I got a good at-bat and it feels great.”
When asked what it was like to play a two-hour game for the first time in a long time, he replied, “It was my first day game in a long time, so I felt a little out of shape, but I think we scored six runs in the first inning and played comfortably until the ninth inning.”
Finally, he said, “I think we were able to win today thanks to the support of our fans. We have 30 games left, and we will try to win one more game.” /what@osen.co.kr
Courtesy of Samsung Lions