Seoul: Starter Kim Kwang-hyun threw six gutsy innings and the offense backed him up with two home runs, as the SSG Landers defeated the Doosan Bears 7-2 on Friday to stretch their winning streak to five. The Landers, who stayed in fourth place at 49-46-4 (wins-losses-ties), own the longest active winning streak in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after their victory before 15,073 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The Bears, stuck in ninth place, dropped to 41-54-5.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Bears put the first run on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Jung Soo-bin drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single by Lee Yu-chan. Two batters later, Yang Eui-ji brought Jung home with a groundout. The Landers answered right back in the top second, with Lee Ji-young's two-out double off starter Gwak Been plating Ha Jae-hoon, who had reached on an error and stolen second base.
After the Landers failed to score with two men on and nobody out in the top third, the Bears regained their lead in the bottom third. With runners at second and third following a walk, a single, and a wild pitch, Park Jun-soon cashed in the go-ahead run with a groundout to third. But then the Landers went ahead with two runs in the top fifth. Jeong Jun-jae drove in the tying run with a single, as Kim Sung-hyun, who'd hit a one-out double, slid just past the tag of catcher Yang Eui-ji and touched the plate with a desperate dive.
Choi Jeong then smoked a double off the center field wall to put the Landers up 3-2, reaching the 1,600th RBI milestone. The Landers extended their lead to 4-2 in the top sixth when Kim Seong-uk greeted new pitcher Choi Won-joon with a solo home run to left-center field, marking Kim's first home run of the season. Ha Jae-hoon's two-run blast in the top seventh pushed the Landers' lead to 6-2, and Kim Sung-hyun put the game further out of the Bears' reach with an RBI single in the top eighth.
Choi, whose RBI stood as the winning run, expressed his focus during the crucial at-bat, saying he concentrated extra hard not to strike out after previous struggles against Gwak. "I had my timing down on a fastball in that situation," said Choi, the KBO's career home run leader who is batting an uncharacteristic .213 this season. "I want to help the team win as much as I can. I've been getting a lot of help from my hitting coaches lately. They've been working with me on how to best use my power and strength."
Kim Seong-uk, who joined the Landers in a trade from the NC Dinos on June 7, had not homered since September 19 last year. "I didn't think the ball would go over the fence when I hit it," Kim said. "When I was rounding the bases, I was worried my teammates would give me the silent treatment in the dugout. Thankfully, they all gave me high-fives. It felt really good."
Despite neither starter being sharp, Kim Kwang-hyun did just enough to win his third straight decision, now standing at 7-7 with a 3.90 ERA. He allowed two runs on four hits and four walks over six innings, but saved his best for his final inning of work, striking out two batters in the bottom sixth. Kim threw 102 pitches, 62 for strikes, utilizing a five-pitch mix.
Gwak Been allowed three runs - one unearned - on six hits in five innings, though he also struck out his season-high eight batters.