‘Chairman’s Day’ Doosan hits four home runs to beat Lotte
The Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) hit four home runs to win in front of owner Park Jung-won, and manager Lee Seung-yeop became the first manager to win 100 games in his career. On the same day, the Kiwoom Heroes snapped a 13-game home losing streak, while the LG Twins, Kia Tigers, and Samsung Lions swept their opponents.
Doosan defeated the Lotte Giants 8-3 in a regular-season home game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on April 18.
Doosan secured the win with a ‘home run’. No. 5 hitter Yang Seok-hwan opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the first inning, followed by Jung Soo-bin (one run) and Kim Ki-yeon (one run). Yang added a two-run homer in the fifth inning to complete his two-homer, five-RBI performance.
Doosan starter Kwak-Bin Kwak allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work, while Kim Taek-yeon, Choi Ji-kang and Young-ha pitched scoreless relief to secure the win. Kwak Bin improved to 4-4 on the season with a 3.92 ERA.
Lotte starter Na Gyun-an took the loss after giving up seven runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. The three home runs he gave up were the difference.
Lee earned his 100th career win with the victory. Since taking over as Doosan’s manager last year, Lee has won 74 games and added 26 more this year. He reached the 100-win plateau after 192 games in charge.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Kiwoom lost 0-3 against SSG Landers at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
SSG capitalized on Go Myung-joon’s RBI single in the third inning and Choi Jeong-jeong’s RBI double and Han Yoo-seom’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to put away Kiwoom. There was a twist in the form of a side injury to Roenis Elias during warmups, but replacement starter Lee Ki-soon did his job with three and two-thirds innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts and no walks.
Kiwoom’s recent two-game losing streak, especially at home, has left them shaking their heads. The longest home losing streak in KBO history is 14 games by the Qingbo Pintos in 1987.
LG, meanwhile, extended its winning streak to two games with a 7-6 victory over KT at Katie Wise Park in Suwon. At the plate, Kim Bum-seok 토토사이트 hit his first home run in back-to-back at-bats, while on the mound, Choi Won-tae pitched six innings of two-run ball. Kim Jin-sung then worked out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve the dramatic victory.
Kia also clinched the series with a 7-2 victory over the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park. Choi Hyung-woo opened the scoring with a two-RBI triple, and Park Chan-ho’s line drive to second base in the fourth inning deflected off the second baseman for the winning run. Starting pitcher Hwang Dong-ha pitched five innings of two-run ball to earn his first win. NC starter Lee Jae-hak was tagged with five runs in four innings.
Finally, Samsung defeated the Hanwha Eagles 9-8 at Samsung Lions Park. Samsung led 7-5 through seven innings before Noh Si-hwan’s RBI single and Kim Kang-min’s RBI double in the top of the eighth quickly turned the game around. However, Oh Jae-il’s pinch-hit home run in the eighth and McKinnon’s game-winning home run in the ninth completed the dramatic comeback.