Doosan was almost a victim of Korea's first perfect game against Ko Young-pyo. Before the game, the manager emphasized, "The older brothers have to hit" until his mouth was dry, but the older brothers did not respond to the chance they barely obtained.
The Doosan Bears lost 1-2 to KT Wiz in the season's 7th match of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 27th.
Before the game, Doosan arranged the starting lineup in the order of Jeong Su-bin, Jake Cave, Yang Eui-ji, Kim Jae-hwan, Yang Seok-hwan, Oh Myung-jin, Choo Jae-hyun, Kang Seung-ho, and Lim Jong-seong. Manager Lee Seung-yeop noted, "Jeong Su-bin has a good record against Ko Young-pyo. Oh Myung-jin struck out the last time he faced Ko Young-pyo, but since it's the second time, I expect him to do better. He has elite control and a changeup, so I arranged a lineup that allows the batters to hit comfortably without pressure."
He said, "We need to score first. When we score first, our chances of winning increase. If the score gap widens, our hitters are not in overall good condition and lack the strength to catch up. As we can see from our recent games, the clutch abilities of the players are not good. It’s true that the lineup is a bit blocked." He added, "Now the older brothers have to hit. The players below are working hard, so the older brothers need to regain their original form."
However, on this day, Lee Seung-yeop's faith in baseball did not work. Coincidentally, he faced Ko Young-pyo when he was in peak condition, and the lineup was completely shut down, going perfect until the 7th inning with 2 outs. Ko Young-pyo's pitch count by the 5th inning was only 46, showcasing the ineffectiveness of the Doosan lineup. The 'older brothers' mentioned by the manager, Kim Jae-hwan, struck out swinging in the 2nd and 5th innings, Yang Seok-hwan flied out to center in the 2nd and grounded out to third in the 5th, Kang Seung-ho struck out swinging in the 3rd, and grounded out to second in the 6th.
Doosan, trailing 0-2, finally broke Ko Young-pyo's perfect game with Yang Eui-ji's left single after 2 outs in the 7th inning. Kim Jae-hwan created the first scoring opportunity with 2 outs and runners on first and second after being hit by a pitch, but Yang Seok-hwan struck out swinging on Ko Young-pyo's 112 km changeup with a 2B-2S count. The inning ended.
Doosan had another opportunity in the 8th inning with 2 outs, as Kang Seung-ho hit a double and pinch hitter Kim In-tae was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second again. This time, Jeong Su-bin successfully hit a one-run single to bring down Ko Young-pyo from the mound, but foreign player Cave faced KT's closer Park Young-hyun, managing only a groundout to second after six pitches.
Doosan approached the offense in the 9th inning still trailing 1-2. It was the inning where the high-salaried lineup of Yang Eui-ji, Kim Jae-hwan, and Yang Seok-hwan was sent out in a one-run deficit. However, once again, hope turned to despair quickly. Lead-off batter Yang Eui-ji flied out to third, Kim Jae-hwan grounded out to first, and Yang Seok-hwan struck out swinging after six pitches, ending the game.
With this loss, Doosan's two-week winning streak challenge was cut short. Their record is now 21 wins, 3 ties, and 29 losses, widening the gap to 3.5 games from KIA Tigers in 8th place, who won against Kiwoom Heroes in Gwangju at the same time. Starting with Choi Seung-yong's 6 innings pitched, allowing 8 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs on 95 pitches, Lee Young-ha (1 inning, no earned runs) and Park Chi-guk (1 inning, no earned runs) also did their part, but the high-salaried batting lineup was another source of defeat.
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