Van Hekken Helps Heroes Stay Alive

Andy Van Hekken pitched seven scoreless innings, before allowing two eighth inning runs to the Doosan Bears, as the Nexen Heroes staved off elimination in the first round of the Korean Baseball play-offs.

Van Hekken allowed three hits and one walk through the first seven frames, and his Nexen teammates built a 5-0 lead.  Van Hekken allowed a pair of runs before being relieved with two outs in the eighth.  The Heroes' bullpen closed out a 5-2 Nexen victory.

Nexen now trails the Best of Five Series two games to one.  Game Four is scheduled for Wednesday night in South Korea.

Van Hekken and the Heroes will Have their Backs to the Walls on Tuesday in Korea

Andy Van Hekken and his Nexen teammates are facing elimination from the Korean Baseball play-offs heading into Tuesday's game against the Doosan Bears.  Doosan holds a 2-0 lead over Nexen in the Best of Five series heading into Tuesday's game three.

Van Hekken, who is in his fourth season with Nexen, is slated to start the potential elimination game. Van Hekken was 15-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 32 regular season starts.  The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 Korea time. That's 5:30 a.m. Tuesday in Van Hekken's native Michigan.

Heroes and Van Hekken Kick Off Season Saturday

Andy Van Hekken, who won the rough equivalent of Korean baseball's Cy Young Award in 2014, takes the hill for the Nexen Heroes in Saturday's season opener.  Van Hekken, 20-6 last season, gets the opening day nod at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul against the Hanwha Eagles.

The Heroes advanced to the Korean Series, where they fell to the Samsung Lions in 2014.  The opener is scheduled to begin at 2:00 in Korea (midnight, Friday, Houston time).

Van Hekken Headed Back to Korea

Andy Van Hekken will be headed back to Korea in 2015 to play a fourth season with the Nexen Heroes.  Van Hekken posted 20 wins during the regular season for Nexen in 2014.  According to this article, he will have a base salary of $650,000 (US dollars) in 2015.

Korean Series Schedule and Results

2014 Korean Series Schedule and Results:

Samsung wins series, 4-2.

Tuesday, November 4- Nexen at Samsung, Nexen wins 4-2. Video Highlights

Wednesday, November 5- Nexen at Samsung, Samsung wins, 7-1. Video Highlights

Friday, November 7- Samsung at Nexen, Samsung wins, 3-1. Video Highlights

Saturday, November 8- Samsung at Nexen, Nexen wins, 9-3. Video Highlights Van Hekken post-game interview Full Game Video

Monday, November 10- Samsung vs. Nexen, Samsung wins, 2-1. Video Highlights

Tuesday, November 11- Samsung vs. Nexen, Samsung wins, 11-1.

If you are looking to follow this series, check out MyKBO.net.  This site is the best one on Korean baseball that I have seen.  According to this site, video of all Korean Series games will be available for free on YouTube.(As best I can tell, the free video is only available during the live webcast. I haven't found a free replay.)

A few tidbits about the series:

You may want to keep an eye on Nexen's shortstop, Kang-jung Ho. The 27-year old shortstop is expected to play in the United States in 2015.  MLBTR predicts he will end up in Baltimore.

The last three games of the series are slated to be played in Jamsil Stadium, which is a neutral site. Nexen and Samsung's home fields seat less than 20,000, so Jamsil, which seats more than 25,000, will be used for Games 5-7.

Coverage of the Korean Series on this site is brought to you by Scarborough basketball.  The Spartans season starts November 18 at home.

The Heroes and Van Hekken are Headed to the Korea Series

The Nexen Heroes throttled the LG Twins 12-2 on Friday night to secure the organization's first-ever berth in the Korean Series. Nexen won the semi-final series three games to one to advance to the best of seven championship series, where they will face the Samsung Lions.

By clinching the series in four games, the Heroes avoided using their top starting pitcher Andy Van Hekken.  Van Hekken, who won 20 games during the regular season, should be available when the Korean Series commences on Tuesday, November 4 in Daegu.

Samsung and Nexen were the top two teams in the KBO during the regular season.  Samsung was 78 and 47 with three ties.  Nexen finished the regular season 78 and 48 with two ties.

Nexen Heroes take 2-1 Lead in Semi-Finals

The Nexen Heroes knocked off the LG Twins 6-2 on Thursday night to take a two games to one lead in their Best of Five Semi-Final Series.  Game Four is scheduled for 6:30 pm Friday (4:30 am, Central Time).

Game Five, if necessary, is slated for Sunday afternoon.  The winner of the semi-finals advances to the Best of Seven championship series against the Samsung Lions.

Van Hekken and Heroes Hit a Bump in Korean Play-offs

Andy Van Hekken and the Nexen Heroes bullpen allowed six runs in the top of the eighth inning as the LG Twins evened their KBO semi-final series against Nexen at one game apiece with a 9-2 victory Tuesday night.

Van Hekken had allowed two runs (one earned) through the first seven innings of the contest, before the wheels fell off in the fateful eighth.  He departed after two batters with one out and a runner on second.  After four walks, one hit by pitch, one single, one double and a sacrifice fly allowed by the Heroes bullpen, the Twins held an 8-2 lead.

The Best of Five Series resumes with Game Three on Thursday night.  Van Hekken is slated to pitch again in Game Five on Sunday.

Van Hekken Looks to Lead Heroes to 2-0 Lead on Tuesday

Andy Van Hekken will take the mound on Tuesday night in South Korea with a chance to lead the Nexen Heroes to a 2-0 lead over the LG Twins in their Best of Five KBO semi-final series.  Van Hekken who was 20-6 in the regular season, was 3-3 with a 3.38 in six appearances against the Twins according to @MyKBO.

The Heroes won game one of the series, 6-3 on Monday night. The winner advances to the Best of Seven championship series against the regular season champion Samsung Lions next month.  Tuesday's game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm local time(4:30 am, Central Time).

Andy Van Hekken is a 20-Game Winner

Andy Van Hekken, 35, became the first left-hander since 1995 to win 20 games in a season in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). According to @BaseballinKorea on Twitter, Lee-sang Hoon was the most recent left-hander to accomplish this feat.

Van Hekken (20-6), who is in his third season with the Nexen Heroes, picked up the milestone victory Tuesday in a 12-4 win over the Lotte Giants.  Tuesday's start should be the final one of the 128-game regular season for Van Hekken.

The play-offs await for Van Hekken and his Nexen teammates.  The Heroes enter the post-season as the KBO's #2 seed, meaning they will receive a first round bye and are scheduled to begin play on October 27.

In three seasons with Nexen, Van Hekken has established himself as one of the top pitchers in Korea.   The Michigan native has collected 43 wins in three seasons overseas.

NOTE: Andy Van Hekken is not related to Mark Van Hekken (illustrated above). However, I had Andy in mind when I named a character in my new book Mark Van Hekken. Mark Van Hekken, also a 20-game winner, is one of the main characters in The Gamble- The Season the Local Brewer Bet Against The Dukes.