As the Doosan Bears wrapped up a three-game midweek series with a win, manager Lee Seung-yeop expressed his appreciation for his veteran players 안전놀이터.
Kim Jae-ho’s walk-off hit in the 11th inning gave Doosan a 4-3 victory over the Samsung Lions in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Friday.
Manager Lee Seung-yeop was so determined to win the game that he used all of his pitching staff, including Park Chi-guk, Jung Chul-won, and Hong Gun-hee. Park Chi-guk and Jung Chul-won were on the mound for the entire three-game series.
“It was a really tough game, but luckily we won at the end,” said Lee, who met with SSG Landers the next day before their fourth game of the season. “We used up a lot of pitchers, so if we had lost, it would have been a big negative factor.
Despite not getting the win, starting pitcher Choi Seung-yong earned a quality start (QS) with six innings of six-hit ball, two walks, three strikeouts and two runs. He bounced back from his previous outing, in which he gave up six runs (three earned) in 4⅓ innings against the Suwon KT Wiz on April 19.
“I pitched well, but I was really disappointed with one pitch (Oh Jae-il’s RBI double), and if I hadn’t hit it, everything would have been fine with one run,” Lee said. “He’s getting better and better as the game goes on. He took a lot of pitches and didn’t show any drop in his stamina. I think it was another day where he saw the possibilities,” he encouraged Choi.
As good as the pitchers were, the veteran outfielders also shined.
Yang Yang-ji, who came in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 10th inning and hit a double, Jung Soo-bin, whose bunt shook the opposing infield and brought home a runner from third, and Kim Jae-ho, who closed out the game, all made their presence felt at key moments.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop said, “After all, veteran players know baseball. They can read the situation and play baseball. If we say that the young players showed their strength well (in the first inning), I think we should say that the veteran players led the victory with their experience and tradition at the end.”
However, like the previous day, Yang won’t be starting. “I think it will be difficult for him to play (as a starter) until this week. He’s still training and doing tests, but he has some problems and swelling, so if he pushes himself too hard, there’s a chance he could be out for a longer period of time in the long run.”
Doosan’s starting lineup was Jung Soo-bin (center field), Lee Yoo-chan (second base), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Jose Rojas (left field), Heo Kyung-min (third base), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher), and Yang Chan-yeol (right field).