The NC Dinos pull out a dramatic 11th inning win in extra innings. They held off Doosan’s late rally to secure third place.
The NC Dinos pulled off a dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Doosan Bears in the 11th inning of extra innings at NC Park in Changwon on Thursday, as Park Han-geup’s RBI single in his debut at-bat led to the winning run.
Doosan started Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Rojas (right fielder), Yang Ji (designated hitter), Kim Jae-hwan (left fielder), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher) and Park Jun-young (third baseman). Heo Kyung-min was removed from the lineup due to thigh fatigue. The starting pitcher was Jang Won-jun.
NC’s starting lineup was Son Asub (designated hitter), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Park Min-woo (second base), Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Kim Sung-wook (right field), Yoon Hyung-joon (first base), Ahn Jung-yeol (catcher), and Kim Han-byul (shortstop). Park Gun-woo was scratched from the lineup due to back pain from the previous day’s game. Shin Min-hyuk was the starting pitcher.
NC scores first run in the first inning, thanks to Seo Ho-cheol’s solo shot and Park Min-woo’s 13-pitch walk.
NC took advantage of Jang Won-jun in the first inning. In the bottom of the first inning, with the bases loaded, Seo Ho-cheol took Jang Won-jun’s second pitch, a 138-kilometer fastball, over the left-center field fence for a leadoff solo shot. His third home run of the season. Park Min-woo followed with a 13-pitch walk to extend the lead. Martin popped out to shortstop, but Kwon Hee-dong singled to right. Park Min-woo sprinted from first base and drove home a run. Third base coach Lee Jong-wook, who hadn’t missed the loose defense of right fielder Rojas, turned his arm vigorously. Park Min-woo made up his mind and rushed home. The lead remained at 2-0.
Shin Min-hyuk’s streak comes to an end in the fourth inning…Doosan ties the game with Kang Seung-ho
NC starter Shin Min-hyuk pitched a scoreless third inning. But in the fourth inning, he was suddenly shaken. He gave up a leadoff double to Rojas. He then gave up back-to-back singles to Yang Ji and Kim Jae-hwan, leaving the bases loaded. The first batter, Yang Seok-hwan, faced a nine-pitch count and struck out swinging. The next batter, Kang Seung-ho, faced a full-count nine-pitch count, but the result was different. Seung-ho Kang hit a two-run double to left field that cleared the third baseman. Doosan tied the game at 2-2. However, with runners on first and second, Jang Seung-hyun grounded out to the catcher and Park flied out to center field.
Veteran Jang Won-jun tosses a no-hitter to submarine Choi Won-jun, ‘Won-jun Duo’ holds NC to 2 runs in 5⅓ innings
The team’s most experienced pitcher, Jang Won-jun, gave up two runs in the first inning but held NC batters in check the rest of the way. He gave up two runs on three hits (one home run) and one walk in 5⅓ innings and left the mound with 58 pitches. Wonjun Choi took over the ball. Choi came in to face Kwon Hee-dong in the top of the fourth inning and gave up a single to right, but he struck out Kim Sung-wook and induced Yoon Hyung-joon to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. In the fifth, he struck out Ahn Jung-yeol on a fly ball to left field, Kim Han-byul on a strikeout, and Son Ah-seob on a fly ball to left field to record a triple play inning. He finished the job by striking out the first batter of the sixth inning, Seo Ho-chul. Jang Won-jun and Choi Won-jun combined to pitch 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits (one home run) with one walk and three strikeouts.
Kim Jae-hwan hits 10 home runs for the first time in 46 days after being told to do so by the nation’s top hitter
“Now (Kim) has to do it,” Lee Seung-yeop said, hoping that Kim’s fixer-upper instincts would come alive. He pointed out that Yang had been carrying too much of the load and urged Kim, Yang Seok-hwan, Rojas, and others to share the burden. Kim Jae-hwan lived up to his commander’s words. Kim Jae-hwan came to bat in the top of the sixth inning. In a one-ball, two-strike, unfavorable count battle with NC’s Han Jae-seung, he took a four-pitch 132-kilometer slider for a solo shot. It was his 10th home run in 46 days after hitting his ninth at Samsung on Aug. 9. It was his eighth straight year of double-digit home runs and gave him a 3-2 lead.
Kim Kang-ryul’s trusted headshot ejected, Hong Gun-hee’s wild pitch ties the game
Doosan held on to its one-run lead. In the eighth inning, Kim Kang-ryul took the mound. The leadoff batter, Choi Jung-won, struck out on three pitches. However, he sent Son Ah-seop to the shortstop for an infield single. Then came the variables. Kim Kang-ryul threw a 145-kilometer fastball to Seo Ho-cheol at first base that went right to his head. The impact was enough to knock his helmet off. Seo was bleeding slightly but was able to walk on his own. He was taken by ambulance straight to the hospital for further examination. Kim Kang-ryul was ejected for the head shot and NC had runners on first and second.
NC avoided a double play when Park Min-woo hit a grounder to the third baseman. They had runners on second and third. A wild pitch by Hong Gun-hee allowed the third baseman to score and NC tied the game.스포츠토토
The game goes into extra innings…and Kyungmin Heo comes to close it out
In the ninth inning, both teams failed to score. The game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th inning, NC had a chance to put runners on first and second with a leadoff single by Do Tae-hoon and a sacrifice bunt by Park Young-bin, but a straight hit to the first baseman by Cho Hyun-jin negated the chance. In the top of the 11th inning, Doosan didn’t miss its chance. Park Kye-beom led off the 11th with an infield single to third base. Kang Seung-ho hit a grounder to the shortstop to load the bases. Doosan then brought in Jang Seung-hyun to pinch-hit for Heo Kyung-min, who manager Lee Seung-yeop had said was out of the lineup but could come in later in the game. In the end, Heo did just that. On a two-ball, one-strike count, Heo took a 130-kilometer slider from NC’s Kim Si-hoon for a two-run shot to left field. It was Heo’s second career pinch-hit home run. This home run ensured that Doosan’s will to win the third inning would never be broken.
NC’s Last Stand, Park Han-yeol’s First Hit + Finish
However, NC made a dramatic comeback. Down 3-5 in the bottom of the 11th inning, leadoff hitter Park Min-woo walked, and Martin, who had gone without a hit in his last 25 at-bats before batting in the 11th, broke the silence with a single to left. There were runners on first and third with no outs. Kwon Hee-dong drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out, and Park Han-yeol, making his debut, hit a double to right-center field with an error to end the game.