The Doosan Bears won their second straight game thanks to solid pitching and a focused 12th inning.
Doosan won 4-1 on the road against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2023 KBO League regular season at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Tuesday. It was the second straight win for the team, which had snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory the day before.
It wasn’t an easy day to win, as Hanwha went with ace Ricardo Sanchez, while Doosan went with Won-jun Choi, a side arm who has struggled this season. Sanchez pitched as expected, but Choi exceeded expectations. He threw five innings of one-hit ball, giving up one run on one hit, his first one-run game in over a month since June 27 against the NC Dinos.
The bullpens of both teams followed suit, with Hanwha’s Joo Hyun-sang, Jang Si-hwan, Park Sang-won, and Kim Bum-soo keeping the game scoreless until the 11th inning, while Doosan’s Kim Myung-shin, Jung Chul-won, Hong Gun-hee, Park Chi-guk, and Choi Seung-yong kept the game scoreless until the 12th inning.
The game was decided in the 12th inning. The visiting Doosan batting lineup, which hadn’t been able to score a run, came up with a focused effort, led by the veterans. Leadoff hitter Kim Jae-ho opened the scoring in the 12th inning with a single against Kim Bum-soo, and with runners on first and second, Jung Soo-bin came through with the game-winning hit and stolen base. Back-to-back singles by center fielder Yang Seok-hwan and Yang Ji-won turned the tense game in Doosan’s favor.
After the game, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop praised the batters’ concentration in the 12th inning, saying, “We were playing a tough game with no hits, but the batters showed amazing concentration in the last attack.” He also praised the veterans, saying, “Kim Jae-ho came out with an aggressive swing from the 토토사이트 first pitch, and Jung Soo-bin got his first hit of the game at the most important moment.” Lee also praised Kim Tae-geun’s performance, saying, “Kim Tae-geun must have been under a lot of pressure after failing to bunt in the seventh inning, but he bunted perfectly in the second situation,” which set the stage for the run.
“On the mound, all pitchers, including starter Choi Won-jun, pitched well and shared the victory,” Lee said, also praising the salty pitching of Choi Won-jun and the Gyetujin.
Meanwhile, 9011 fans visited the Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagle Spark after 12,250 fans visited the previous day. “I would like to thank the fans who cheered loudly until the 12th inning,” said Lee Seung-yup.
