SEOUL– SSG Landers outfielder Juan Lagares was never known for power during his 10-year major league career, with just 31 home runs in 850 games. He never hit more than six home runs in any season.
The Dominican outfielder made his name with his defense, as attested by his Gold Glove in 2014 while patrolling center field for the New York Mets. And when the Landers signed him in July to replace the slumping infielder Kevin Cron, they sought to shore up their outfield defense, with any offense from Lagares considered a bonus.
And on Friday, the Landers got a huge payout from Lagares, as he smoked a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning to help his club past the Kiwoom Heroes 8-2 in Game 3 of the Korean Series.
The Landers entered the eighth at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul trailing 1-0, despite putting a runner aboard in five of the first seven innings.
With one out in the eighth, Choi Jeong reached on a throwing error by shortstop Kim Whee-jip. The Heroes summoned sidearm pitcher Kim Dong-hyeok from the bullpen to handle the meat of the Landers lineup.
After cleanup Han Yoo-seom lined out to right field, Lagares battled Kim for seven pitches, barely staying alive by fouling off three pitches at 0-2 count. Lagares then took a curveball in the dirt before hammering a changeup over the left field wall for a 2-1 Landers lead.
“I was trying to get a base hit no matter what,” Lagares said of his mindset in the box. “And the pitcher made a mistake, with a pitch coming over the heart of the plate. I put a good swing on it and the ball went for the home run.”
Lagares and the Mets came up short in the 2015 World Series, falling to the Kansas City Royals in five games. Lagares recalled that the Mets had been a better team on paper then, and losing that series has driven him to work even harder for a championship ring.
Lagares said he had some difficulty adjusting to the unusual setup in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. By virtue of winning the regular season title, the Landers had a bye to the Korean Series and had three weeks off after the regular season ended.
“I would have preferred to keep on playing without taking any time off,” Lagares said. “No matter how well you hit during the season, it is hard not to get rusty if you have three weeks off and only play scrimmages in that time. But I was able to stay sharp and that has led to some good results in this series.”
After Lagares’ blast, the Landers never looked back. They erupted for six runs in the top of the ninth inning, and the final score did not reflect the tense air that hovered over the field in the first seven frames.
Landers starter Oh Won-seok played a role in that, as he limited the Heroes to a run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Oh hadn’t been scheduled to start this game at first. Before the series, the Landers had planned to start American left-hander Shawn Morimando for Game 3. But they used Morimando out of the bullpen in Tuesday’s Game 1 and he ended up throwing 39 pitches. Bringing him back to start Friday after just two days off wasn’t an option for the Landers, who elected to go with Oh for his first career postseason start.
Oh was knocked around by the Heroes in the regular season. He was 0-3 in seven games with an 8.14 ERA, with 22 earned runs on 30 hits, including five home runs, in 24 1/3 innings.
Yasiel Puig had three of those long balls, and he hit two loud doubles against Oh in this game, too. But Oh neutralized most other hitters, including the ever-dangerous Lee Jung-hoo.
Oh did something that no other pitcher had done this postseason: striking out Lee, doing so in the sixth inning with a fastball. Lee, the two-time reigning batting champion, had not struck out in 51 trips to the plate before that.
“I was shocked. I asked myself, ‘Did I really strike him out?'” Oh said. “I knew I had pitched well against him in the regular season but since he is such a great hitter, I wasn’t thinking about those numbers.”
Oh said he had been a tad nervous before the start of the game, but striking out the leadoff hitter Kim Jun-wan on three pitches settled him down right away.
“I think the Korean Series has been a lot of fun,” Oh said. “Fans react to every single play, and the level of their passion is unbelievable.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency