Unable to walk away from the ‘Jamsil Derby’, the Doosan Bears fell short of victory in the second game of the series. The losing streak got even longer.
Doosan fell into a four-game losing streak with a 6-7 loss in the ninth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Monday, bringing their season record to 44-1-40 (.524).
Despite the ‘sweltering heat’ of over 30 degrees at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, 21,126 spectators came to the ballpark to cheer on both teams. The fans were just as determined as the players to end the losing streak.
However, after conceding the first run, the game started to go south. After being tied with LG at 0-0 until the end of the fourth inning, Doosan gave up a big run in the top of the fifth inning.
The culprit was none other than the main catcher, Yang Ji. In the top of the fourth inning, with runners on first and second, the second pitcher, Kim Myung-shin, threw a three-pitch fastball to Shin Min-jae, which the catcher failed to catch and threw backward. The official score was Yang’s fastball (foil).
After Shin’s strikeout gave Doosan a breather, they sent Hong Chang-ki to the plate for an automatic high four, but it turned out to be a “handshake” against Moon Sung-joo. With the bases loaded, Moon singled to left, scoring Moon Bo-kyung from third and Park Hae-min from second. Then, first baseman Hong Chang-ki rushed home.
In Hong’s case, the original call was an out, but the call was overturned as a save after the LG bench requested a video review. The replay center, which also looked at the circumstances surrounding the home collision, determined that catcher Yang Yang-ji blocked Hong’s hand as he attempted to slide.
Doosan head coach Lee Seung-yeop then stormed out of the dugout to express his displeasure. He knew that disputing the video review would result in an ejection, but he continued to protest for a while, even at the risk of being sent off. In addition, Doosan gave up one more run on a single by Kim Hyun-soo in the bottom of the inning, widening the gap between the two teams to 0-4.
The four-run deficit was not a small one considering LG’s must-win situation, but Doosan, who had to play without their skipper, immediately began to chip away at the deficit. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kang Seung-ho was hit by a pitch and Yang Chan-yeol and Park Jun-young singled to load the bases, and after Kim Tae-geun struck out, Jung Soo-bin hit an RBI single. It was Doosan’s first run of the day.
In the second inning, Kim Jae-hwan singled to right to put two runners on base. However, the inning ended in vain as Kim Jae-hwan was tagged out at first base on a throw from the right fielder. With two runners on base, Doosan could have pushed LG further.
With one run in the sixth inning and two in the eighth, Doosan’s ordeal was not over. The Doosan bench, which was operating without a manager, chose to push Jung Chul-won, who started the eighth inning with nine pitches, into the ninth inning. Moon Bo-kyung’s double and Park Hae-min’s single put runners on first and third, and when Shin Min-jae bunted, shortstop Kim Jae-ho made a throwing error, allowing Moon to score.
Doosan sent Hong Gun-hee to the mound as LG pulled within one run, but a grounder to short by Hong Chang-ki allowed LG to score a run and tie the game at 6-6. In the top of the 10th inning, a ground ball hit by Oh Ji-hwan from first base was poorly handled by third baseman Heo Kyung-min, giving Doosan the lead for good and forcing the team to postpone its sweep until the next game.먹튀검증
While the official count of errors was two, there were plenty of unforced errors.
Fans and players alike walked out of the stadium with a heavy heart after a performance that didn’t look like a “third-place team.