Seoul: The Doosan Bears secured a 7-3 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes at home, capitalizing on early offense and robust pitching in a matchup between two struggling teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). According to Yonhap News Agency, Bears captain Yang Eui-ji emerged from an early season slump, contributing his first two RBIs of the season. Starter Choi Min-seok delivered 5 2/3 shutout innings, achieving his first win of the season. This triumph brought the Bears to a 3-6-1 record, whereas the Heroes, plagued by three errors and six walks, fell to 3-7-0. The Bears quickly established a lead, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning against sophomore left-hander Chung Se-young, who was making his second career start. Park Chan-ho initiated the offense with a single, followed by Park Jun-soon's bloop single to shallow right field, driving him home. Yang, who had been in a 3-for-32 slump, hit a double to left field, allowing Park Jun-soon to score and securing a 2-0 lead. This marked Yang's first extra-base hit and RBI of the season. The Heroes' defensive lapses allowed the Bears to extend their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Kim Min-suk reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Eo Joon-seo, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on Kang Seung-ho's single, which was mishandled by the center fielder. Kang later scored on Yun Jun-ho's sacrifice fly, making it 4-0. Yang added to the lead with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, following a couple of walks, increasing the Bears' advantage to 5-0. Choi effectively stranded runners, preventing the Heroes from scoring. He navigated through challenges, including two walks in the third and a leadoff single in the fourth. Choi encountered difficulty in the fifth, facing a double, hit batter, and walk with two outs but managed to strike out Lee Ju-hyoung to escape the jam. After Choi's exit in the sixth with a 5-0 lead, the Bears added two more runs in the seventh through a wild pitch and an RBI single by Kim Min-suk. The Heroes responded in the eighth w ith an RBI single by Choi Joo-hwan and a two-run homer by Lee Hyung-jong, narrowing the gap to 7-3. Bears closer Kim Taek-yeon faced a tense ninth inning, loading the bases with a single and two walks, but secured the win by striking out the final two batters in front of 15,461 fans. Bears manager Kim Won-hyong praised the team's collective effort, highlighting Choi Min-seok's performance and the batters' support with early runs. Yang acknowledged the importance of the victory, expressing satisfaction with the contributions of young players like Choi Min-seok.
