Doosan pitcher Park Chi-guk's "super catch" saves the team; closes gap to Hanwha by 0.5 games after blood-soaked battle in the rain [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan pitcher Park Chi-guk (28)'s "super catch" saved the team.

Doosan Bears defeated Hanwha Eagles 3-1 in a game held at Seoul Jamsil Stadium on the 4th. Finishing the midweek three-game series with two wins and one tie, the sixth-place Doosan narrowed the gap to fifth-place Hanwha to 0.5 games.

Park Chi-guk entered as the team's third pitcher in the bottom of the 6th inning with a 2-0 lead and two outs with runners on second and third. He struck out the first batter, Heo In-seo, and finished the inning without allowing a run.

In the bottom of the 7th, Kim Tae-yeon led off with a single to left field, and pinch-hitter Lee Do-yoon hit a double down the right-field line, allowing one run. Hwang Young-mok then hit a hit to center field. Lee Won-seok was struck out, leaving one out with runners on first and third. The next batter, Oh Jae-won, attempted a squeeze bunt on the first pitch. Park Chi-guk dove to catch the low-flying ball near the pitcher's mound. He then threw to third base, forcing out runner Lee Do-yoon, who had already crossed home plate.

After surviving the crisis, Doosan immediately capitalized in the top of the 7th. With consecutive hits from Park Ji-hoon and Oh Myung-jin, and a bunt by Jung So-bin, they drew a bases-loaded situation after a fielding error by opposing pitcher Jo Dong-wook. Following one out, Son Ah-seop hit a ground ball to second base, scoring one run and extending the lead to 3-1.

Lee Yong-chan, who finished the top of the 9th with three strikeouts, recorded his first save in 679 days since July 25, 2024, during a game against Gwangju KIA while with NC. It has been 3,187 days since his last save with Doosan, which occurred on September 12, 2017, against NC in Masan.

Earlier, in the bottom of the 2nd inning, Yang Eui-ji hit a solo home run over the left-field wall off opposing starter White with one out, taking the lead. This followed a solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning of extra innings during the previous day's (3rd) game against Hanwha, marking back-to-back home runs in consecutive at-bats. In the continued offensive rally, Doosan took a 2-0 lead when Oh Myung-jin hit a triple to left-center field with two outs and a runner on second, following a hit to center field by Ahn Jae-seok and a ground ball to the pitcher by Park Ji-hoon.

Meanwhile, the game was suspended twice due to rain, totaling 106 minutes (1 hour and 46 minutes), before resuming. After the bottom of the 1st inning for Doosan, play was halted from 6:45 p.m. to 7:04 p.m. for 19 minutes. It was suspended again at 7:52 p.m. after the top of the 4th inning for Hanwha. The game resumed at 9:19 p.m., 1 hour and 27 minutes later, after the rain subsided and field maintenance was completed.

White continued to pitch even after a long break, allowing five hits and two runs through six innings before leaving the mound. Doosan's starting pitcher Jack-log threw 60 pitches over four innings, allowing two hits without allowing a run, and was replaced by Choi Jun-ho in the top of the 5th inning.

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*This content was translated by AI.