Both teams combined for 25 runs. The difference between the Doosan Bears, who ate sweet potatoes in the regular innings, and the NC Dinos, who only managed one run in scoring position from the fifth through the ninth innings, was the difference between the two teams.
NC is now 1-10 in its last 11 games and is on a downward spiral.
The NC Dinos lost 1-4 in 10 innings of extra innings against the Doosan Bears in the 2024 Shinhan SOL BANK KBO League on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at NC Park in Changwon, Gyeongnam. The loss dropped the Dinos to 1-10 in their last 11 games.
Doosan, which lost three straight games against the LG Twins last weekend, called up 2022 Rookie of the Year pitcher Jung Chul-won for the first time in 41 days to face the Bears. NC, which was extremely sluggish with a record of 1-9 in 10 games, was in a bad situation as its five-game winning percentage collapsed (28-29-1).
The game was a pitcher’s duel. The score remained 0-0 until the fifth inning, which took just 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete.
NC’s left-hander Hart threw 83 pitches through the sixth inning, allowing no runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six, but gave up a run in the seventh inning on a double, stole third base, and a throwing error by the catcher, and ended the game after throwing 108 pitches through the seventh inning. Doosan’s right-hander Choi Jun-ho also threw 75 pitches through the fifth inning, allowing two hits, one walk and one strikeout before being relieved by the bullpen.
The game changed dramatically in the bottom of the sixth inning when Doosan made a pitching change. After leadoff hitter Choi Jung-won drew a walk and stole second to put runners on first and second with nobody out against Doosan right-hander Choi Ji-kang, who came on after starter Choi Jun-ho, Park Gun-woo drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop immediately pulled Choi Ji-gang and brought in right-handed reliever Kim Taek-yeon.
Kim immediately struck out No. 4 Davidson on a 149 mph fastball and got No. 5 Son As-seob to fly out to left field. He then got Seo Ho-chul to fly out to 토토사이트 center field to end the inning with runners on first and second and no outs.
After getting out of the jam, Doosan immediately capitalized on the opportunity. In the top of the seventh inning, Doosan No. 8 Lee Yoo-chan hit a two-run double in a nine-pitch at-bat against Hart. In the ensuing play, Lee attempted a surprise steal of third base, and when catcher Kim Hyung-joon made a throwing error that allowed the ball to flow behind the third baseman, Lee took advantage and raced home for the winning run. Hart was relieved of the mound to end the seventh inning with the unearned run. Doosan took advantage of a tightly contested game and scored a valuable first run.
Kim Taek-yeon, who had worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, was hit by back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the seventh to put runners on first and second. Left-handed reliever Lee Byung-heon came on, and NC manager Kang In-hwon ordered a bunt, which he did not do in the sixth inning, to put runners on first and second and third.
One hit could have turned the tide. After Park Min-woo struck out swinging, Kang Kwon-hyung removed Choi Jung-won, who had drawn a walk and stolen a base in the previous inning, and brought in right-handed pinch-hitter Kwon Hee-dong. Kwon drew a full-count walk to load the bases with two outs, opening the door for No. 3 Park, who was 1-for-1 with a walk and two strikeouts. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop then made another change, bringing in right-hander Kim Kang-yeol for Byung-heon Lee. After a three-pitch battle, Park flied out to shortstop to end NC’s chances of getting the tying run on base.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, NC had runners on first and second with two outs, but Park struck out in his first at-bat.
The NC batters, who had left 11 stranded runners on base in the eighth inning, had runners on first and second in the sixth and seventh innings, and had missed two runners on first and second in the eighth inning, finally scored in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Kim Hwi-jip, the leadoff hitter, drew a walk, Kwon Hee-dong followed with a single, and Park Gun-woo finally broke the scoreless tie with a single. A wild pitch followed, and Davidson was hit by an automatic pitch to load the bases with one out, but Han Seok-hyun and Seo Ho-cheol were stranded to end the game and send it to extra innings.
By the ninth inning, Doosan had 10 stranded runners and NC had 14 stranded runners, a total of 24 stranded runners for both teams, showing how frustrating the bats of both teams were in this game.
In the top of the 10th inning, Doosan put runners on first and third with back-to-back singles by Yang Ji-ji and Yang Seok-hwan, and Kim Jae-ho’s infield single to the third baseman put Doosan back in front 2-1, followed by Kim Ki-yeon’s RBI double. Jeon Min-jae followed with an RBI single, forcing NC to raise the white flag.
Despite putting runners in scoring position for five consecutive innings from the fifth to the ninth, NC only managed to score one run. NC is now 1-10 in its last 11 games, its worst record since mid-May, when it overtook the KIA Tigers for first place, but now has to worry about sixth-place Soosung.