The Doosan Bears snapped a six-game losing streak against their ‘nemesis’ SSG Landers and earned their first win of the season. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop was relieved and praised Kim Taek-yeon, who saved his team in the ninth inning to earn his first career save.
On May 21, Doosan won 8-6 at Jamsil SSG. With the win, Doosan maintained sole possession of fourth place in the league with a 27-2 record on the season.
Doosan had lost six straight games against SSG dating back to last year and had also lost the away series sweep in the first meeting this season. Speaking to the media before the game, head coach Lee Seung-yeop said, “We were not good against SSG last year, and we need to play well against a team that we lost to in order to be ranked higher. We also didn’t play well in the first matchup this season. It’s important for us to get the first win with Choi Won-jun starting today. The best-case scenario is for him to go at least five innings, but it could change depending on the game. It’s all about how we get through the fifth inning and then go to the bullpen,” he said, referring to the possibility of a quick bullpen.
As Lee had hoped, Doosan jumped out to an early lead and continued its smooth bullpen performance. Doosan took the lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run by Kim Jae-hwan. In the bottom of the third inning, Yang Seok-hwan, Jeon Min-jae, and Cho Sung-hyun hit back-to-back RBI singles to extend the lead to 7-1.
Doosan extended its lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run by Yang Seok-hwan. Doosan starter Choi 안전놀이터 Won-jun earned his third win of the season with five innings, 97 pitches, six hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
Doosan then ran into trouble in the top of the ninth inning. After Park Jung-soo gave up a three-run homer off Choi, Lee Young-ha and Hong Gun-hee were unable to record a single out. With runners on first and second, the Doosan bench pulled closer Hong Gun-hee and brought in Kim Taek-yeon.
After two pitches against Kim Min-sik, Kim induced a three-pitch 147 km/h fastball to shortstop for his first career save, preserving the win for his team and Choi Won-jun.
After the game, Lee said, “Our No. 4 hitter, Kim Jae-hwan, hit the decisive two-run home run in the first inning. In the third inning, with runners on first and second, he took an aggressive swing at the first pitch and doubled. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Yang also hit a valuable solo home run to seal the win. In the bottom of the batting order, Jeon Min-jae and Cho Sung-yueng couldn’t have done better. He lived up to the expectations of the bench with a multi-hit game,” said Lee.
“On the mound, Choi Won-joon paved the way for the win by minimizing runs. I would also like to praise Kim Taek-yeon for his save in the ninth inning,” and gave a thumbs-up to Kim, who earned his first career save.
Meanwhile, Doosan and SSG have announced Kim Min-kyu and Kim Kwang-hyun as their starting pitchers for the matchup on the 22nd.
