Doosan Bears Move Into Second Place

The Doosan Bears advanced to the second place in 42 days in the Korea Baseball Organization league.

In the first game of a doubleheader against the Samsung Lions on September 19 in Seoul, the Bears won 5-1, their third win in a row. Bears’ starting pitcher Gary Rath gave up five hits and one run over seven strong innings.

Rath only struck out two hitters, but his pinpoint control allowed just one free baserunner by hitting a batter, in picking up his 16th win of the season. Last night’s victory placed Rath in a first place tie for most wins with Kia Tigers’ pitcher Daniel Rios.

With two outs in the bottom of second inning, the Bears scored the first run thanks to consecutive hits by Choi Kyung-hwan, Israel Alcantara, and Hong Sung-heon. Leading by three runs in the sixth inning with two outs and bases loaded, pinch-hitter Kim Dong-joo hit a single that brought two runners home.

In Gwangju, Kia Tigers’ ace Kim Jin-woo made an impressive comeback from injury as he held the LG Twins to five hits and two runs over seven innings. The Tigers won 9-6. The Tigers moved closer to the fourth spot in the playoffs, sweeping the series against the Twins over the weekend. Shim Jae-hak and Ma Hae-young each recorded three RBIs.

In Busan, the Hyundai Unicorns blanked the Lotte Giants 7-0, confirming its first place lead in the league. The Unicorns’ starting pitcher Mike Fyhrie got his 14th win of the season. He struck out six, walked one, and gave up three hits in eight innings.

In Incheon, the SK Wyverns’ Kim Min-jae set a Korean league record by hitting in nine consecutive at-bats. Kim went four-for-four in the first, second, fifth, and seventh innings on Sunday against the Hanhwa Eagles. Combining Sunday’s result with the one hit he recorded on September 16 against the LG Twins, and the his hits on Saturday against the Giants, he broke the old record of hitting in eight consecutive at-bats shared by three players. Chang Hyo-jo and Lee Man-soo of Samsung, and Kim Ki-tae of SK had set the old record in 1983, 1986, and 2000, respectively.

Hwan Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com