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The fourth game of the South Korean baseball championship series was rained out on Thursday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to postpone Game 4 of the Korean Series between the home team SK Wyverns and the Doosan Bears at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, west of Seoul, to Friday. It will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Wyverns defeated the Bears 7-2 on Wednesday at home to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven meeting.
Of the 14 times that the Korean Series has been tied at 1-1 prior to this year, the team that took Game 3 went on to capture the championship on 13 occasions.
Game 5 will be pushed back from 6:30 p.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, also at SK Happy Dream Park.
Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be at the Bears' home, Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, on Monday and Tuesday.
The Wyverns are in pursuit of their first title since 2010, while the Bears are chasing their third championship in four years.
The scheduled starters for Thursday were left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun for the Wyverns and right-hander Lee Young-ha for the Bears.
This is the eighth time a Korean Series game has been postponed due to rain
.
A few SK players came out on to the field to play catch before the league made its announcement.
The scheduled starters for Thursday were left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun for the Wyverns and right-hander Lee Young-ha for the Bears.
Kim, 30, has pitched in eight Korean Series games, including four Game 4s. He's gone 3-2 with a save and a 2.62 ERA in 34 1/3 innings.
Lee, 21, has never appeared in the Korean Series before.
SK manager Trey Hillman said Thursday he will stick with Kim for Friday. But Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyung elected to go with their No. 1 starter, Josh Lindblom.
The American right-hander was the losing pitcher in Game 1 last Sunday, when the Bears fell 7-3, and he was initially scheduled to start Game 5 on Friday if not for the rainout. And now with an extra day of rest, Lindblom, the regular season ERA champion, gives the Bears a better pitching matchup against Kim than the unproven Lee.
Kim Tae-hyung said Lee Young-ha will now be in the bullpen for the rest of the series.
Hillman, who spoke with reporters before the Bears made the switch, said he didn't have a preference on which pitcher his team will face.
"Whoever it is, they have to execute pitches," Hillman said. "The way the game is set up, so much momentum is determined by whoever the pitchers are. It all comes down to the same thing, executing pitches."
For Game 5 on Saturday, the Bears can have another American right-hander, Seth Frankoff, available on four days' rest. Frankoff was the winning pitcher in the Bears' 7-3 victory on Monday, when he struck out 10 and allowed just one earned run in 6 2/3 strong innings.
The rainout also gives the Bears' injured slugger, Kim Jae-hwan, an extra day of rest. Kim, who batted cleanup in the first two games, suffered a right oblique injury during batting practice before Wednesday's Game 3 and was removed from the starting lineup.
After Wednesday's loss, Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyung said the outfielder was doubtful for Game 4.
Kim Jae-hwan, the regular season leader in home runs and RBIs, went 4-for-8 with two doubles in the first two games in the ongoing series.
The Wyverns may stick with the same rotation even after the rainout. That means Kim will likely start Game 4 on Friday on six days' rest, followed by submarine pitcher Park Jong-hoon for Game 5 on Saturday on five days' rest. (Yonhap)
