A perfect victory with two-hit harmony made for a comfortable night for the manager.
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop said before the 10th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against SSG Landers at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Saturday, “I felt really comfortable watching the game the day before. I slept well at night,” he said, basking in the afterglow of victory.
Doosan had swept SSG 10-1 the day before and was on a four-game winning streak. The batting lineup took advantage of SSG ace Kim Kwang-hyun to jump out to a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Leadoff hitter Kim Tae-geun was the spark plug for the offense, going 2-for-5 with a double, one RBI and one run scored. Kim Jae-ho went 1-for-2 with a run and a walk, Rojas went 1-for-4 with a run and a walk, Yang Yang-ji went 1-for-2 with a run and a walk, Yang Seok-hwan went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Heo Kyung-min went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Starting pitcher Kwak Bin also pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts. It was a great day for Kwak, who reached double-digit wins in his first season as a professional.
With the win the previous day, Doosan improved to 54 wins, 51 losses, and one tie on the season, maintaining sole possession of fifth place in the standings, 1.5 games ahead of the sixth-place KIA Tigers. The team also increased its hopes of moving up the standings, trailing fourth-place NC Dinos by 0.5 games and third-place SSG by 3.5 games.
“The day before, I thought it was going to be a tough game, but Kwak-bin pitched well for eight innings, and the batters came up with a lot of good runs, including consecutive hits and long balls,” said coach Lee Seung-yeop.
“I think the game the day before was a really, really good game,” he emphasized, adding, “The day before, Kim Myung-shin had a day off and Kim Kang-ryul had a little bit of a bad knee, so we didn’t have a lot of bullpen resources, but Kwak Bin pitched well and saved the pitchers, and Kim Tae-geun also hit well. I’m hoping the good vibes will continue into today.”메이저놀이터
Meanwhile, Doosan’s starting lineup was Kim Tae-geun (right fielder), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Rojas (left fielder), Yang Ji (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Park Jun-young (third baseman), Ahn Seung-han (catcher), and Cho Su-hyung (center fielder). The starting pitcher will be right-hander Young-gun Kim Min-kyu.
Jung Soo-bin, the main leadoff man and center fielder, is still nursing a sore thigh, so he will come off the bench to pinch-hit late in the game.