The Doosan Bears are bringing back memories of fall. After falling to ninth place last year, Doosan took another step toward fall baseball with a veteran rebound. Jung Soo-bin, Kim Jae-ho, and now Heo Kyung-min have come full circle.
They combined for 10 hits and 11 walks in an 11-4 victory over visiting Hanwha in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Hanwha Stadium in Daejeon on Nov. 11.
Doosan, which is 9-4 against Hanwha this season, remained in fifth place with 49 wins, 45 losses and one tie. They are now just one game behind the top three. Hanwha, on the other hand, dropped its fifth straight game and remained in eighth place with 38 wins, 52 losses and five draws.
Doosan’s starting lineup was Jung Soo-bin (center field), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Jose Rojas (left field), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Kang Seung-ho (second base), Kim In-tae (right field), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher), and Heo Kyung-min (third base). The starting pitcher is Brandon Waddell.
Hanwha countered with Moon Hyun-bin (center field), Jung Won (second base), Noh Si-hwan (third base), Chae Eun-sung (designated hitter), Kim Tae-yeon (first base), Nick Williams (left field), Lee Jin-young (right field), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Oh Sun-jin (shortstop). Han Seung-hyuk got the start.
Doosan has been strong against Hanwha this season, going 8-4. Speaking to the media before the game, manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “Every game is very important. From first to 10th place, there is no one to take lightly.”
“Of course, it’s a positive factor. Kim Jae-hwan’s home run was a big gain for us,” he said, adding, “You need two or three hits to score one run, but if (Yang) doesn’t have the willpower and the long-hitting players hit one home run, it’s one run, so that’s why the long-hitting players are scary. It’s good if he can hit long balls,” he said.
Choi Won-ho emphasized pitching. Kim Seo-hyun, who returned from the second team after a two-month absence, was waiting in the bullpen, and he said, “First, we need to see the situation today and see how (Han) Seung-hyuk throws.”
Against Han Seung-hyuk, the Doosan bats came alive in the first inning. Jung Soo-bin led off with a single up the middle and Kim Jae-ho followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with Kim Jae-hwan’s RBI single to right. The Hanwha bullpen started to make its move in the first inning.
In the second inning, Heo Kyung-min hit a solo home run to left field. He turned his bat hard to match Han Seung-hyuk’s 135-kilometer-per-hour slider and the ball cleared the left field fence. It was his fifth home run of the season. 먹튀검증
In the third inning, the game was essentially tied. Kim Jae-ho led off with a single and Rojas followed with a double to right-center. Han Seung-hyuk was shaky and gave up a walk to Yang Seok-hwan before handing the ball over to Lee Tae-yang.
In a tense situation, Lee gave up a push single in a close game. A fielding error by Noh Si-hwan allowed another run to score, and with two outs, Heo Kyung-min hit a three-run double to left-center field to make it 7-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, with the tide already turning, Hanwha brought in Kim Seo-hyun, but his early-season issues with his pitches still persisted. He threw a whopping 81 pitches in 2⅔ innings, giving up four runs on three hits and eight walks. Doosan took advantage of a shaky Kim Seo-hyun.
Fifth inning.
