Seoul: Ahn Hyun-min marked his return from a two-month injury layoff with two RBIs, while starter Ko Young-pyo tossed six innings, as the KT Wiz came from behind to beat the Doosan Bears 6-2 in South Korean baseball Tuesday. Cleanup Sam Hilliard hit a two-run homer in the third inning for the Wiz, who won their third straight game to improve to 39-25-1 (wins-losses-ties) and remained in second place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Bears, despite outhitting the Wiz 11-10, fell to 33-32-2 but stayed in fifth.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Bears greeted Ko with two straight singles to begin the bottom of the first inning, and cleanup Yang Eui-ji knocked in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to center. The Wiz responded with a four-spot in the top third against starter Choi Seung-yong to seize a 4-1 lead. They loaded the bases with two hits and a walk, and Kim Hyun-soo's groundout tied the game before another groundout by Ahn put the Wiz up 2-1.
Hilliard extended the lead to 4-1 with a two-run homer to right field, marking his 14th home run of the season. After the Bears stranded two runners in the bottom third and again in the bottom fourth, the Wiz added to their lead in the top fifth. With runners at the corners, Ahn picked up his second RBI of the game with a single to left. He was lifted for pinch runner An Chi-young after pushing the Wiz's lead to 5-1.
Two batters later, Kim Min-hyuck, who had replaced Jang Sung-woo as designated hitter in the third inning, delivered an RBI single for a 6-1 lead. The hit chased Choi from the game. The Bears got a run back courtesy of Lee Yu-chan's triple in the bottom sixth, but the rally was halted when shortstop Kwon Dong-jin made a diving grab on a liner by Jo Soo-haeng.
Kwon showcased his skills again in the bottom seventh with a diving stab that started an inning-ending double play. Ko, who scattered nine hits over six innings, held the Bears to two runs to win his fourth consecutive decision. The sidearmer improved to 5-4 and lowered his ERA from 4.50 to 4.38. The Bears had a man aboard in eight of the nine innings and left nine runners on base.