The eyes of Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop, the ‘national hitter’, narrowed. His will to win has reached the hearts of his players.
Doosan came from behind to win 4-3 in the third game of the midweek series against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium on Friday. Kim Jae-hwan hit a home run for the second straight game.
With the victory, Doosan recorded its 59th win (55 W, 2 L, 2 T) and took the first step in its chase for the top spot. Clever runners, brilliant baseball, a strong finish, and a solid bullpen. It was a victory that symbolized Doosan’s strength.
Doosan had stumbled to a 5-5 record in August until the day before, when third-place Samsung surged ahead with an 8-3 record. Coach Lee Seung-yup, who had been focusing on managing his team, had reason to panic. However, the victory got things back on track.
Lotte, on the other hand, saw their August surge come to a halt.
After winning four straight games, they lost to KT Wiz on the 9th with Park Se-woong on the mound, and then lost to Doosan with Park Se-woong on the mound after winning three straight games. Park’s pitching wasn’t bad, but his bad luck was compounded by a walk-off home run.
Before the game, Doosan lost “8.5 billion free agent” veteran Heo Kyung-min to injury. He suffered an incomplete dislocation of his pinky finger while trying to handle a ground ball hit by Lotte’s Hwang Sung-bin with his bare hands during the previous game. 사설 토토사이트 Manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “I expect Lee Yoo-chan to play the role that Heo Kyung-min did,” and he was right.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, on the other hand, celebrated his birthday (lunar calendar) on the same day. When asked for a “birthday present,” he said, “I hope Park Se-woong throws well. However, his wish didn’t work.
Lotte went into the game with its best lineup:
Hwang Sung-bin (center field), Ko Seung-min (second base), Son Ho-young (third base), Reyes (left field), Na Seung-yup (first base), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Park Seung-wook (shortstop), and Son Sung-bin (second base). Park Se-woong started the game.
Doosan countered with Jeong Soo-bin (center fielder), Jared Young (designated hitter), Yang Ji-ji (catcher), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kim Jae-hwan (left fielder), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Lee Yoo-chan (third baseman), and Cho Su-sung (right fielder). Choi Won-joon was the starting pitcher.
Lotte got off to a good start. They scored two runs in the top of the second inning on a leadoff single by Reyes, a double by Na Seung-yup, and an RBI single by Park Seung-wook.
In the top of the third inning, Hwang Sung-bin singled, stole second, and Son Ho-young scored on a throwing error by Doosan’s Choi Won-joon to make it 3-0. Choi was pulled after four and a third innings after failing to complete the fifth.
However, Doosan mobilized its golden bullpen of Hong Gun-hee, Kim Kang-ryul, Lee Byung-heon, and Kim Taek-yeon and did not allow a single run against the Lotte bullpen.
Meanwhile, the bottom of the third inning was the start of the turnaround.
Doosan had runners on first and third with nobody out in the bottom of the inning after a walk to Cho and a single by Jung Soo-bin. Jared struck out.
Luck struck again when Yang Ji-joo grounded out to third. The ball stuck in the glove of Lotte third baseman Son Ho-young. It was a free run for Doosan. Yang Seok-hwan followed with a single to score the second run.
The next at-bat went to Kim Jae-hwan, but he hit a short fly ball to left field. Yang made a bold tag up to the plate, but was thrown out at home by Lotte left fielder Reyes.
Doosan did not give up. Two batters later in the bottom of the fourth inning, Lee Yoo-chan, a player Lee Seung-yeop trusted, doubled, and Cho sprinted to first base to make a safe catch on a slow grounder to second. As the Lotte defense panicked, Lee slid home to tie the game at 3-3.
In the bottom of the fifth inning,
A bases-loaded walk and a foul fly by Yang Ji-jung and Yang Seok-hwan ended the threat. But Doosan had Kim Jae-hwan. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kim made up for his earlier at-bat with a walk-off single. Lotte starter Park Se-woong was removed after failing to complete the sixth inning.
Doosan brought in closer Kim Taek-yeon early with two outs in the top of the eighth to put out the fire. He missed a crucial chance to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Kim gave up a single to Lotte’s leadoff hitter Reyes in the top of the ninth, and a bunt followed by a wild pitch put runners on first and third. But Kim struck out Jeon Jun-woo and Yoon Dong-hee in succession to preserve the win. It was his 14th save of the year.