▲ Doosan's Choi Min-seok, who secured his 9th win of the season
The Doosan Bears extended their winning streak to two games, fueled by a stellar pitching performance from 20-year-old Choi Min-seok and a five-RBI outing by Kang Seung-ho.
Doosan defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 8-1 in a regular season KBO League away game held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul today.
With this victory, Doosan improved to 42 wins, 40 losses, and 2 draws, maintaining their 5th-place position.
Doosan starting pitcher Choi Min-seok stifled the Kiwoom lineup, allowing only one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings. With this performance, he earned his 9th win of the season (2 losses), tying him for the lead in wins with Adam Oller of the KIA Tigers.
Choi also lowered his earned run average (ERA) from 2.39 to 2.33, surpassing Oller (2.36)—who has already finished the first half of the season after being removed from the first-team roster—to take sole possession of the league lead in that category.
A second-year pitcher who joined Doosan as the 16th overall pick in the second round of last year's draft after graduating from Seoul High School, Choi will now be removed from the first-team roster following this game to prepare for the second half of the season.
While Choi kept the Kiwoom hitters in check, the Doosan offense provided timely run support to ease the pressure on their pitcher.
After managing only one run on a sacrifice fly by Kang Seung-ho with the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning, Doosan broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a two-RBI double from Kang and an infield grounder by Kim Min-seok to pull ahead 4-1.
The Doosan offense, which had been quiet for a while, exploded again in the eighth inning.
With one out and a runner on third, Kang Seung-ho hit an RBI double to right field.
Doosan then extended their lead to 7-1 following an RBI single by Kim Min-seok, a hit by Son Ah-seop, and an opponent error, effectively sealing the game.
Kang did not stop there, hitting another RBI double in the ninth inning to complete a perfect performance, finishing 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored.
Kiwoom starting pitcher Kim Yun-ha took the loss in his first start of the season, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over four innings.
Having suffered five losses in 2024 and 12 last year, Kim has now recorded his first loss of this season, leaving him just one defeat away from tying the league record for the most consecutive losses.
The record for the most consecutive losses is held by Jang Si-hwan (LG Twins), who suffered 19 straight losses between 2020 and 2023.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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