Doosan sticks with Chung, and the result is self-defeating.
The Doosan Bears missed a really important game. It was a game and result they will regret after hitting the ground.
Doosan gave up a shocking final push in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose 4-5 against the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday. Doosan and manager Lee Seung-yeop will be disappointed with the loss, as it was a game they could have won.
Doosan was in third place heading into the game. However, they didn’t have a game in hand on the fourth-place SSG Landers and NC Dinos. This meant that the third-place team could drop to fifth all at once. Coincidentally, SSG and NC won side-by-side on the day. Only Doosan lost. They are now in fifth place after one game. There’s a world of difference between 3rd and 5th place. With the end of the season just around the corner, a close loss is bound to leave a lasting impact.
It was a close game. Both Doosan, who needed to win, and KT, who wanted to secure second place on their own in the final game of the season, tried their best. The game went down to the wire. Trailing 1-2, KT took the lead in the eighth inning with a come-from-behind two-run double.
However, Doosan turned the game around in the ninth inning. Jung Soo-bin led off the inning with a triple against Kim Jae-yoon, followed by Yang Seok-hwan’s tying hit and Kim Jae-yoon’s wild pitch.
It looked like Doosan was back in the game, but their trusted closer Chung Chul-won collapsed. He gave up the tying home run to Hwang Jae-gyun, and then gave up a shocking straight ball to catcher Kang Hyun-woo with the bases loaded. It was a blown save.
In the eighth inning, with two runners on base and two outs, Doosan pulled Hong Gun-hee and brought in Jung Chul-won early. However, Chung was not at his best on this day. It started with a double off the bat of Choi Jae-dae.
And giving up a home run to Hwang Jae-gyun was clear evidence of that. The inexperienced Ahn Chi-young struck out but gave up back-to-back hits to Park Byung-ho and Lee Ho-yeon. It was time for a change. But the Doosan bench believed in 토토 closing. In the bullpen, Park Chi-guk was warming up.
When the opponent sent out pinch-hitter Song Min-seop with runners on second and third, Doosan thought. Knowing that their opponent had used up all of their catchers, they loaded the bases to face Kang Hyun-woo. They thought he was a weak hitter.
But it turned out to be poison. He hadn’t calculated that Chung’s pitch would swing. The game ended with a result Lee never expected.