In the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, the Doosan Bears defeated the Hanwha Eagles 6-3 to extend their winning streak to four games. With a season record of 53 wins, 45 losses, and 4 ties, Doosan firmly held onto fourth place in the league. The game, held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 11th, drew attention as a matchup between Asian Games national team starting pitchers.

Asian Games National Team Starters Face Off… Doosan Shakes Up Starting Lineup

Doosan's Kwak Bin and Hanwha's Wang Yan-cheng are scheduled to represent Korea and Chinese Taipei, respectively, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games this September. Notably, Wang Yan-cheng had posted a 1.47 ERA against Doosan this season, demonstrating strong form. Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung made changes to the starting lineup as a strategy against Wang Yan-cheng, starting Cho Soo-haeng in center field instead of Jung Soo-bin and Park Ji-hoon at first base instead of foreign hitter Severino. Park Ji-hoon had recorded 4 hits in 8 career at-bats against Wang Yan-cheng.

Manager Kim predicted before the game, "Wang Yan-cheng has been strong against us. Early runs are important, but it's highly likely to be a pitching duel through the fifth or sixth inning."

Doosan starting lineup: Kim Dae-han (RF) - Park Ji-hoon (1B) - Park Jun-soon (2B) - Yang Ui-ji (DH) - Kim Min-seok (LF) - Ahn Jae-seok (3B) - Park Chan-ho (SS) - Yoon Jun-ho (C) - Cho Soo-haeng (CF)

Hanwha starting lineup: Lee Won-seok (CF) - Ferraza (RF) - Moon Hyun-bin (LF) - Kang Baek-ho (DH) - Noh Si-hwan (3B) - Chae Eun-seong (1B) - Heo In-seo (C) - Lee Do-yoon (2B) - Shim Woo-jun (SS)

Early Pitching Duel… Doosan Strikes First

The early innings belonged to Kwak Bin. In the top of the first, the Hanwha lineup could not get anything going, going down on three strikeouts, setting the tone for Doosan. In the bottom of the first, Doosan opened the scoring with Park Ji-hoon's single up the middle. Yang Ui-ji's walk and a wild pitch created a two-out, runners-on-second-and-third opportunity, and Kim Min-seok's infield single brought Park Ji-hoon home for the first run. In the bottom of the second, starting with Park Chan-ho's single to left, Yoon Jun-ho and Cho Soo-haeng advanced the runner to third on groundouts, and Kim Dae-han's RBI single added another run.

Hanwha had a chance to counter in the top of the second with two outs after Heo In-seo's double, but Lee Do-yoon struck out to end the inning. Hanwha went down in order in both the third and fourth innings and failed to capitalize on a scoring opportunity in the fifth.

Yang Ui-ji's Solo Homer Makes It 3-0… Hanwha Mounts Comeback with 3-Run Shot in the 7th

In the bottom of the sixth, Doosan's Yang Ui-ji hammered Wang Yan-cheng's sixth pitch, a 127 km/h sweeper, for a solo home run over the left field wall, extending the lead to 3-0. That proved to be the end of the line for Wang Yan-cheng, who came off the mound after allowing 3 runs in 5 innings (91 pitches, 8 hits, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk).

In the top of the seventh, Hanwha mounted a comeback. Right after Kwak Bin left the mound, Kang Baek-ho hammered Kim Jung-woo's third pitch, a 129 km/h changeup, for a solo home run over the center field wall. After Noh Si-hwan drew a walk and the pitcher was changed, Chae Eun-seong attacked Kim Taek-yeon's third pitch, a 150 km/h fastball, for a two-run home run to left, tying the game at 3-3.

Park Jun-soon's Go-Ahead 3-Run Homer… Lee Young-ha Earns 17th Save

However, Doosan's response was swift. In the bottom of the seventh, Kim Dae-han's double to left and Park Ji-hoon's infield single put runners on first and third with one out. Park Jun-soon then crushed Jang Yu-ho's first pitch, a 135 km/h slider, for a three-run home run to left (his 16th of the season), instantly restoring the lead at 6-3.

From there, Doosan's Takada pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Lee Young-ha closed out the ninth without allowing a run. Lee Young-ha picked up his 17th save of the season. At the plate, Park Ji-hoon had a big game with 4 hits and 2 runs scored, while Park Jun-soon and Yang Ui-ji each added home runs.

Hanwha's early offense was silenced by Kwak Bin, who held them to 5 hits. Although they managed 3 runs on 2 home runs against the bullpen, they were ultimately unable to secure the victory.

Yoon Tae-ho Returns to First Team After 102 Days

Meanwhile, Doosan registered pitcher Yoon Tae-ho to the first-team roster on this day. Yoon Tae-ho returned after 102 days following his placement on the injured list in May. Manager Kim Won-hyung shared his thoughts on the return, saying, "He showed good pitching in the minors."