The Doosan Bears overcame an early exit for starter Kim Dong-joo to complete a midweek three-game sweep behind a strong pitching relay from the bullpen and a five-hit performance from foreign-born Jose Rojas.
Doosan extended its winning streak to three games with an 8-6 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 24. Doosan improved its record to 53 wins, 1 loss and 51 ties. Kiwoom, which ended the series with three straight losses, is now 46-3 and 67-67.
Doosan’s lineup was Heo Kyung-min (third base), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Rojas (left field), Yang Ji (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Kang Seung-ho (second base), Kim In-tae (right field), Park Yoo-yeon (catcher), and Cho Su-hyun (center field). The starting pitcher was Kim Dong-ju.
Kiwoom’s lineup was Song Sung-moon (1B), Kim Hye-sung (2B), Ronnie Dawson (CF), Kim Hwi-jip (shortstop), Lee Joo-hyung (designated hitter), Kim Tae-jin (3B), Lim Byung-wook (left fielder), Joo Sung-won (right fielder), and Kim Xiang (catcher). Ian McKinney got the start in center field.
The two teams traded two runs in the first inning. Doosan struck first. In the top of the first inning, Rojas pulled a seven-pitch fastball from McKinney over the right-center field fence for a leadoff double.
Tablesetter Song Sung-moon and Kim Hye-sung followed with walks and a single, respectively, and after a Dawson strikeout and a Kim walk, Lee Joo-hyung hit a two-run double with one out to tie the game at 2-2.
Kiwoom answered in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Dawson, and after a pitching change, Kim Hwijip hit an RBI single off Choi Won-jun to make it 4-2. The momentum seemed to shift in Kiwoom’s favor when starter Kim Dong-joo was pulled early after giving up four runs in 1⅔ innings.
However, Doosan rallied in the top of the third inning with a solo home run by Kim Jae-ho and tied the game at 4-4 when Yang Seok-hwan drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to center field. In the top of the fifth inning, Rojas doubled and scored on Yang’s grounder to second base on runners on first and third to extend the lead to three runs.
Rojas’ RBI triple in the top of the seventh and Song Sung-moon’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth kept the three-run gap intact, and Jeong Chul-won, who came on with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, got three outs in the bottom of the ninth to seal the game.
After Kim Dong-joo was sent down, Doosan used Choi Won-joon (1⅔ scoreless innings), Kim Kang-ryul (1 scoreless inning), Park Chi-guk (1 scoreless inning), Kim Myung-shin (1 scoreless inning), Lee Young-ha (1 run in ⅔ innings), and Jeong Chul-won (1 run in 1⅓ innings) in relief, with all but Lee and Jeong pitching scoreless innings to share the win. Despite the bullpen’s heavy workload, the players stayed focused to the end and picked up a valuable win.
At the plate, Rojas was the star of the show, blasting 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs, while Kim Jae-ho proved his veteran value once again, going 2-for-1 with a home run, one RBI, and three runs scored. Yang-ji, who started in the No. 4 spot, also made his presence felt with a multi-hit game.스포츠토토
For Kiwoom, starter McKinney took the loss after giving up six runs on five hits (two home runs) in four innings with four walks and four strikeouts, while the ever-improving foreign batsman Dawson was silent with four at-bats. The batters, who collected 11 hits and eight walks, were particularly disappointed that they were unable to capitalize on their many at-bats.
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