*This content was translated by AI.
Will Doosan Bears be able to continue their winning momentum from the previous day (the 4th)? The manager reflected on the tense pitcher substitution in the 7th inning and reaffirmed his resolve.
Doosan will play an away regular-season game against Kiwoom Heroes at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome at 2 p.m. on the 5th as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.
After suffering a 6-5 comeback loss to Kiwoom on the 3rd, Doosan won their previous game 8-5. Their record for the three-game weekend series stands at one win and one loss. Currently, Doosan holds 41 wins, two ties, and 40 losses, placing them fifth in the league.
For today's game, Doosan set its lineup as follows: Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Son Ah-seop (designated hitter), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (catcher), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Ryu Seung-min (right fielder), Kang Seung-ho (first baseman), and Jung Soobin (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Choi Min-seok.
The batting order from first to sixth remains the same as yesterday. However, instead of Son Ah-seop playing right field as he did yesterday, Ryu Seung-min will start as the seventh batter and right fielder. Additionally, Yoon Jun-ho, who caught yesterday's game, is out, and Yang Eui-ji will start at catcher.
Yesterday, Doosan faced a crisis in the bottom of the 7th inning while leading 7-4. Lee Yong-chan, who was on the mound, allowed a hit to center field by leadoff batter Seo Geon-chang. He then threw a pitch that hit the next batter, Im Ji-yeol, instantly creating a bases-loaded situation with no outs.
The following batter was foreign slugger Matt Davidson. Lee Yong-chan's first-pitch forkball drifted high and inside, missing the strike zone. At that moment, Doosan's bench immediately reacted. Despite the ongoing at-bat, they boldly made a strategic move to substitute the pitcher. Kim Taek-yeon then took the mound after Lee Yong-chan. Although Davidson drew one walk, Kim Taek-yeon retired the next three batters in succession, extinguishing the immediate threat. Ultimately, Doosan survived this crisis and went on to win 8-5.
Ahead of today's game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyeong reflected on the decision to remove Lee Yong-chan yesterday: "I had a feeling... After Lee Yong-chan threw a pitch that hit Im Ji-yeol on the first pitch, he kept glancing this way (toward the dugout). Then, when Davidson came up and the first pitch was a ball, I told the pitching coach to quickly go check his condition. He reported that Lee was feeling somewhat fatigued, so I instructed him to make the change unless absolutely necessary... It seems his condition yesterday was simply too poor."
However, there is no injury involved. Manager Kim stated, "In that situation, Kim Taek-yeon came in. There's no injury. He won't be playing today. Yesterday was just a slightly difficult game for him. Still, Kim Taek-yeon managed to hold the line and saved the team," praising his performance.
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*This content was translated by AI.
