“Three extra-inning wins, the guys are motivated.”
“The three overtime wins were a big motivation for the players.”
Blood battles don’t always leave scars. The Doosan Bears, who have played a grueling weekly schedule, have used their five-game winning streak to build a stronger roster.
Doosan won a 9-8 home game against the Kia Tigers in the 2024 KBO League regular season on Aug. 8 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The win was Doosan’s fifth consecutive victory. They remain in third place in the standings, but have lost ground on second-place KIA. The two teams are separated by just three games.
The victory was all the more valuable because it came against a tough schedule. Doosan faced the NC Dinos in Changwon on the 4th and 5th of this month, and both games went into extra innings. The games went into the 10th and 11th innings, respectively. On the 7th, Doosan also played an 11-inning extra-inning game against KIA, and while they came from behind to win both games, it was not without its own setbacks.
Doosan, which used seven pitchers on the 4th, used up its bullpen on the 5th (7), 6th (4), and 7th (7) to get through the week. Game 9 was the culmination. After starter Kim Yoo-sung went down early, the bullpen was mobilized again, and a total of nine pitchers took the mound to preserve a narrow one-run victory.
While the pitching staff battled like a hornet’s nest, it was the bats that carried the team to victory, and Yang Ji was at the center of it all. Yang started Game 8 as the No. 3 designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. He also drove in the winning run.
The bat has been hot lately. From June 1 through today, he’s hit safely in all seven of his monthly games, and he’s had multi-hit games in all but one. His monthly batting average is up to .471. His season batting average is now 0.355, and his on-base percentage is 0.459.
The 8th inning was also solved by Yang Ji. After giving up a lopsided 0-5 lead in the top of the third inning, Doosan rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after a 1-5 start. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the bottom of the order delivered back-to-back singles, and after a sacrifice fly drove in another run, Yang came through with 카지노 the game-winning hit. With a technical hit, she lined a pitch from Lim Ki-young over the left field fence for a two-run double. It was a reminder of why Yang Ji is Yang Ji.
After the game, Yang Ji praised her teammates, not her own performance, but the way they battled through three extra innings. “This week was tough physically, and I think the three overtime wins were a great motivation for the players,” Yang said. “We were able to win today because everyone stayed focused. I think the team has become stronger after this week.”
The performance of the juniors was important, he said. He didn’t forget the presence of Lee Yoo-chan and Cho Su-sung, who created chances before his game-winning hit. In the pitching staff, Lee Byung-heon, Choi Ji-kang, and Kim Taek-yeon have grown into pillars of the team. “Especially the younger players are doing a great job,” he said. I want to take this opportunity to thank them and tell them that they are doing a great job,” he said.
Meanwhile, Doosan continued to play to a packed house the day before, marking its 14th sellout of the season. Yang said, “Thanks to the fans who filled Jamsil Baseball Stadium again today, we were able to win five games in a row. We ask for your continued support so that the team can reach even greater heights,” Yang said.