(LEAD) Dinos beat Bears 5-3 to open Korean Series

▲ Members of the NC Dinos erupt in their dugout after Aaron Altherr's three-run home run against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ NC Dinos' players celebrate their 5-3 victory over the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Drew Rucinski of the NC Dinos pitches against the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Na Sung-bum of the NC Dinos celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Aaron Altherr of the NC Dinos celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Korean Series-Game 1

(LEAD) Dinos beat Bears 5-3 to open Korean Series

(ATTN: ADDS photo, comments, details throughout)

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Aaron Altherr smacked a three-run home run and Na Sung-bum had four hits, as the NC Dinos defeated the Doosan Bears 5-3 to open the Korean Series on Tuesday.

Starter Drew Rucinski gave up three runs -- two unearned -- in 5 1/3 innings for the victory at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with the bullpen holding off the Bears.

Game 1 winners have gone on to win 27 out of the past 36 Korean Series, not counting the 1982 series when the opening game ended in a tie.

Game 2 is back at the dome at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Dinos are trying to win their first Korean Series title in their second trip. In 2016, they got swept in four straight games by the Bears. Tuesday's win was the first Korean Series victory in Dinos' franchise history.

"I think we've evolved into a team that can win a lot of games in the Korean Series," said NC manager Lee Dong-wook, who was a coach on that 2016 runner-up team. "I think individual players have also grown up as well."

The Dinos opened the scoring in the bottom first while barely breaking a sweat. Park Min-woo led off with a double against starter Raul Alcantara, and reached third on a sacrifice bunt. Na Sung-bum then drove him home with a single to left.

Na had gone 0-for-9 with six strikeouts against Alcantara during the regular season.

The Dinos broke things open with one swing of the bat by Altherr in the bottom fourth.

Alcantara nailed two batters, and then Altherr made him pay for the shoddy control by drilling a 3-2 pitch over the left-center wall for a three-run homer.

The Bears rallied with a run in the top fifth, though they could have had much more.

With runners at second and third, Park Kun-woo chopped a grounder to third baseman Park Sok-min, who couldn't get the ball out of his glove when he tried to throw to first. Park Sei-hyok scored easily from third and Park Kun-woo was safe at first.

Rucinski walked the next batter to load the bases for Jose Miguel Fernandez, and the right-hander cleaned up his own mess.

Fernandez hit a soft comebacker back to Rucinski, who turned to second to start a double play but decided to come home to get the force. Catcher Yang Eui-ji then quickly threw to first and nabbed the slow-footed Fernandez to complete the inning-ending double play.

The Bears clawed back further in the top sixth. A single and an error had runners at first and second for Park Sei-hyok, who doubled to deep center and brought home a run that made it a 4-2 game.

The hit knocked Rucinski out of the game, and Kim Jae-ho hit a sacrifice fly off new pitcher Kim Jin-sung to get the Bears within one at 4-3.

The Dinos gave themselves some breathing room in the bottom eight. Na led off with a double, for his fourth hit of the night, and two batters later, Park Sok-min brought him home with a sacrifice fly that put the Dinos up 5-3.

In a battle of bullpens, the Dinos used five relievers to record the final 11 outs. Closer Won Jong-hyan sat down the last three batters for a save.

NC manager Lee Dong-wook said Park Min-woo's double to start the game set the tone, and Rucinski did a fine job wiggling out of early jams.

This was the Dinos' first game since their regular season finale on Oct. 31. They earned a bye to the Korean Series after posting the best record in the regular season, and Lee revealed his batters didn't look so sharp during scrimmages leading up to the series.

"They told me they were trying to peak for the Korean Series and that I should trust them," Lee said. "And I think they were working at their own pace and really taking care of business."

The Bears' relievers did their part, holding the Dinos to one hit and one run over the final three innings, but their bats couldn't get over the final hump.

The Bears grounded into three double plays, two by Fernandez. Oh Jae-il, who has looked lost so far in the postseason, went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and reached once on an error.

Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said he didn't think Fernandez hit poorly and he was just unlucky with the two double play balls.

As for Oh, Kim said he didn't have viable pinch-hitting options on the bench. Oh batted with a man aboard in all four trips to the plate, and didn't get one hit out of those opportunities.

"With runners on, he's the guy to use because he still has some pop," Kim said. "I wasn't going to pinch-hit for him, but I'll have to think about it (for future games) because he just isn't making any contact with the ball."


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