Bears knock off Wiz to reach 6th consecutive Korean Series

▲ Chris Flexen of the Doosan Bears pitches against the KT Wiz in the top of the seventh inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Choi Joo-hwan of the Doosan Bears rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the KT Wiz in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim MIn-gyu of the Doosan Bears pitches against the KT Wiz in the top of the first inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Choi Joo-hwan of the Doosan Bears rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the KT Wiz in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

postseason-game

Bears knock off Wiz to reach 6th consecutive Korean Series

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- The Doosan Bears are headed to their sixth straight South Korean baseball championship series.

The Bears defeated the KT Wiz 2-0 on Friday to take the penultimate round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason in four games.

In his first postseason start this year, Choi Joo-hwan delivered a two-run home run in the bottom fourth at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, while reliever Kim Min-gyu took over from shaky starter Yoo Hee-kwan in the first inning and fired 4 2/3 shutout frames. Right-hander Chris Flexen, who'd started Game 1 for the Bears on Monday, came out of the bullpen for three scoreless innings.

Beginning Tuesday, the Bears will face the NC Dinos in the best-of-seven Korean Series. The Dinos earned a bye to that final stage after capturing the regular season title.

The Bears are the defending champions and have won three of the past five Korean Series.

Both clubs failed to capitalize on great scoring opportunities in the first inning.

For the Wiz, Cho Yong-ho and Hwang Jae-gyun greeted starter Yoo Hee-kwan with back-to-back singles. Then Mel Rojas Jr. battled the left-hander for 10 pitches before driving a double off the right-center wall.

Though the ball was hit deep into the gap, well out of center fielder Jung Soo-bin's reach, Cho got a terrible jump from second base.

With Hwang right on his tail, Cho belatedly tried to score, but was beaten at the plate by a perfect relay from second baseman Choi Joo-hwan.

There were still runners at second and third with just one out. But after Yoo fell behind in the count 2-0 on cleanup hitter Yoo Han-joon, the Bears pulled him for reliever Kim Min-gyu.

Yoo swung on the first pitch and popped out to second. Kang Baek-ho then struck out swinging to let the Bears off the hook.

The Bears threatened to score in the bottom first against starter Bae Je-seong, as Park Kun-woo drew a leadoff walk and Jung Soo-bin reached on a throwing error by Bae following his sacrifice bunt attempt.

With men at the corners and nobody out, Bae wiggled out of the jam unscathed with a strikeout and a double play ball.

The game settled into a quiet rhythm, with the teams trading zeroes through the top fourth.

By the bottom third, KT starter Bae was also gone from the game. And then with two outs and a runner at second in the bottom fourth, the Wiz summoned So Hyeong-jun, their Game 1 starter on Monday, from the bullpen to face Choi Joo-hwan.

So threw 100 pitches in 6 2/3 shutout innings Monday. And KT manager Lee Kang-chul reneged on his earlier word that he would only use So at the start of a new inning without a runner on base.

So threw two straight balls, well outside the zone. After a strike made it 3-1, Choi turned on a fastball over the heart of the plate and drove it over the right field wall for a two-run shot.

Now handed the 2-0 lead, Kim Min-gyu gave the Bears another scoreless inning in the top fifth, before handing the reins to the rest of the bullpen.

The Bears also brought their Game 1 starter from the pen, as American right-hander Chris Flexen took the ball to start the seventh. And Flexen, who had thrown 108 pitches on Monday, looked no worse for the wear, and pitched three shutout innings to close out the clinching win.

After the promising first inning, the Wiz only managed two more hits the rest of the way. Cho, the leadoff hitter, got caught stealing second base in the sixth, and the Wiz grounded into two double plays.

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