The Kiwoom Heroes collapsed on themselves with a poor performance.
Kiwoom suffered a 1-6 setback against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 22.
After coming from behind to win all three games of their home series against Lotte last weekend, completing a three-game sweep in 59 days, Kiwoom was looking to make it four in a row. However, they shot themselves in the foot early on with a series of unforced errors.
After giving Doosan an early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning, Kiwoom quickly got two outs in the bottom of the inning as starter Kim Sun-ki gave up a leadoff single to Kim Jae-ho, but got both Jose Rojas and Yang Seok-hwan to fly out. With only one out to end the inning, Kim induced an infield grounder against Kim Jae-hwan. Three infielders and the pitcher gathered near the mound to catch the ball, which soared into the middle of the infield, and first baseman Kim Woong-bin stepped up to make the catch. However, Kim caught the ball and dropped it, leaving runners on second and third.
The error at a crucial moment cost Kiwoom a chance to break the tie. Doosan took advantage of the gap and Kim In-tae hit a high fly ball to right field. The ball had a long travel time and could have been caught with a full run, but right fielder Joo Sung-won misjudged the pitch and moved backwards, then rushed forward late, and the ball fell in front of him for a run-scoring single.
Ki was not so lucky with runners on second and third in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lim Byung-wook battled Doosan starter Alcantara to a full count and eventually hit a sharp pitch, but the first baseman, Joo Sung-won, who was advancing to second base, was hit by the pitch. Joo made a leaping catch to avoid the hit, but was eventually thrown out at the plate, ending the inning.
Kiwoom made another error on defense in the top of the sixth inning. This time, it was first baseman Jeon Byung-woo, who was brought in to pinch-hit in the fourth inning. Third baseman Song Sung-moon, who had made a difficult catch on the leadoff hitter Kang Seung-ho’s grounder, made a strong 토토사이트 throw to first base, but Byung-woo Jeon couldn’t catch it. The ball bounced off Jeon’s first base mitt, and Kang Seung-ho made it to first base alive. Fortunately for Kiwoom, the error didn’t turn into a run as Jang Seung-hyun laid down a sacrifice bunt.
Kiwoom, who lost the game due to a series of unfortunate plays, still had something to gain. In the top of the fifth inning, left fielder Lim Byung-wook made a strong throw to catch Yang Seok-hwan trying to advance to second base, and starter Kim Sun-ki pitched better than expected, allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts in four innings. In the ninth inning, Song Sung-moon and Kim Joo-hyung hit back-to-back doubles to end the scoreless deficit.