“There are no unimportant games.”
Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop pledged to give his best effort ahead of the Jamsil Samsung Lions game on the 8th. They fell to 6th place due to a decline in their two-stroke pace since August, but they laid the foundation for a rebound with a 3-0 win against the Jamsil KIA Tigers on the 7th. By breaking the momentum of 5th place KIA, which had been on a 9-game winning streak, and narrowing the gap to 3 games, they gained momentum to look upward again.메이저놀이터
Coach Lee displayed a strong will to win throughout the game. From the beginning of the game, he used active mercenary skills and strategies to deliver a strong message to the players that they must catch Samsung and ride the winning streak.
He started by taking out the pinch hitter card in the 4th inning. Doosan was down 0-2, but balanced the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning thanks to timely hits from Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan. Then, when catcher An Seung-han was at bat with 2 outs and 1st and 3rd bases on base, pinch hitter Kim In-tae took out the card. Kim In-tae was currently the strongest pinch-hitting card available from the Doosan bench.
As a result, Kim In-tae failed to turn the game around due to a fly ball at shortstop, and his strongest pinch-hitting card was exhausted, but it was meaningful. Coach Lee was passive about using pinch hitters throughout the season, and tended to use starting players until the end of the game whenever possible. There may have been an impact of Ahn Seung-han not timing Samsung starting pitcher Kim Dae-woo’s ball at all during the previous at-bat, but in any case, manager Lee showed signs of change by breaking the mold he had maintained so far.
Doosan succeeded in turning the score around 4-2 with Kim Jae-ho’s two-run shot in the bottom of the 5th inning. However, in the top of the 6th inning, Kim Myung-shin, the team that was believed to be a sure-fire winner, was shaken and gave up 3 runs, putting the score at 4-5. Heo Gyeong-min’s timely hit to tie the game in the bottom of the 6th inning made it difficult to balance the score at 5-5, but he allowed one run each in the top of the 7th and 8th inning to make it 5-7 again. It was literally a close race.
When leadoff hitter Kang Min-ho got on base with a single in the top of the 7th inning, Samsung manager Park Jin-man boldly brought out the pinch hitter Kang Han-ul card during Jose Pirella’s next at-bat, and when he failed to bunt twice, he irregularly ordered three bunts, which ultimately resulted in pitcher Kim Kang-ryul’s catching error. He made 1st and 2nd base with no outs. Next batter Oh Jae-il’s strong pitch failed, but Ryu Ji-hyuk hit a timely hit to right with one out and runners on first and second base. The strong effort to score one more point ultimately worked, and the atmosphere continued for Samsung until the top of the 8th inning.
Was Director Park’s active strategy a stimulus? Director Lee fought back without backing down. In the bottom of the 8th inning, when leadoff hitter Jang Seung-hyeon was at bat, pinch hitter Park Jun-young was sent out. In a situation where Ahn Seung-han had already been replaced, if Jang Seung-hyun was replaced, Yang Eui-ji, who started as a designated hitter, had to be used as a catcher during the 9th inning defense. It was a strong will to turn the game around even if it meant giving up the designated hitter, and Park Jun-young repaid the manager’s faith by getting on base with a single. The next batter, Heo Gyeong-min, was limited to a fly ball to center field, but Su-bin Jeong got a walk and continued the trend with one out and runners on first and second base, and Jae-ho Kim, who has the best hitting feel on the team recently, hit a timely double to left-center to make it 6-7.
Continued opportunity with 1 out, 2nd and 3rd bases. Coach Lee tried to shake up Samsung Battery once more by giving Jo Soo-haeng a squeeze bunt sign. However, at this time, Soo-haeng Cho did not bunt to first base so that the third base runner could live safely, but instead bunted to third base, where he could live safely, and third base runner Jeong Soo-bin was tagged out at home. It was a painful operation failure.
When leadoff hitter Kim Jae-hwan walked on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Manager Lee did not give up and once again made a bold choice. Kim Jae-hwan was replaced by pinch runner Kim Tae-geun, and pinch hitter Lee Yoo-chan was sent out to bat for fifth hitter Yang Seok-hwan. Seok-Hwan Yang was the top slugger on the team with 18 home runs this season, and on this day, he had 2 hits and 1 RBI in 4 at-bats. Normally, Director Lee would have trusted Yang Seok-hwan and led him along.
However, manager Lee chose to send out a batter who could bunt more reliably. In the game against the Sajik Lotte Giants on the 4th, in the top of the 9th inning when the team was down 3-4 and had the opportunity to reach first and second base with no outs, Yang Seok-hwan was trusted, but he ended up swinging and striking out, which may have left an afterimage of the loss of momentum.
Yu-chan Lee steadily hit a sacrifice bunt, putting the score on second base with one out, and Seung-ho Kang hit a timely hit to balance the score at 7-7. In the ensuing opportunity with 1 out and 2nd base, Samsung sent out Park Jun-young with an automatic 4th pitch, making it 1st and 2nd base with 1 out. Pitcher Hong Geon-hee came to bat, and manager Lee selected Park Gye-beom as a pinch hitter. The only cards left on the bench were Park Gye-beom and Park Ji-hoon, and as it was an important situation, Park Gye-beom, who had much more first-team experience, was sent out.
Manager Lee smiled at Park Gye-beom, who was heading to the plate, saying, “Be confident,” and Park Gye-beom swung the bat confidently. The batted ball itself was hit well, but headed straight for third baseman Ryu Ji-hyuk. As Ryu Ji-hyuk missed the batted ball, second base runner Kang Seung-ho scored, winning the game 8-7.
Park Gye-beom said, “I was really surprised because (third baseman) went straight to the front. Still, we kept going back and forth, so I thought we would get another chance. It was a good hit, but I went straight to the front and said it was a big deal, but (Ryu) Ji-hyuk missed it. “(It was recorded as a walk-off error), but the team won anyway, so it’s okay,” he said, smiling.
As a result of Coach Lee’s diligent work throughout the game, Doosan added one valuable win. Not all choices and decisions were successful and could have been unreasonable. However, it was much better than when we missed all the games that could have been won due to the passive movement of the bench. Bold attempts and failures are also a privilege that a novice director can enjoy. This is why I am glad to see an all-out war that feels like an all-out war.
Doosan recorded two consecutive wins and a season record of 57 wins, 56 losses, and 1 draw, falling behind 5th place KIA by 2 games. There is a 3-game gap with SSG Landers in 4th place. There are ample opportunities to shake up the top five in the remaining 30 games.
Park Gye-beom expressed his will to bounce back, saying, “Not only KIA, but honestly, we want to win NC and SSG as well. We are trying to focus only on winning as much as possible. It is a time when we are continuing to focus, and an atmosphere of wanting to say a little more has been formed in the dugout.” .
Jae-ho Kim emphasized the importance of a double header with Samsung on the 9th. Doosan fully realized how much of an impact securing two wins a day has on the battle for rankings when it took first place in the 2019 regular season.
Kim Jae-ho said, “It was a really tough game, but I’m glad we won. We were able to win because the young players did their part at the end,” and added, “We will focus on the double header tomorrow (9th) and bring victory to everyone.”