Doosan Bears infielder Park Joon-young (26) is making his presence felt with his ‘Altoan’ performance in the climax of the standings race.
Doosan earned an 8-6 road win against the KIA Tigers at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on April 15. With the score tied 6-6 in the top of the ninth inning, Kang Seung-ho ignited the comeback with an infield single, and the next three batters all drew walks to preserve the lead. Kang Seung-ho recorded his 30th career cycling hit (home run, triple, double, and single) to drive in the winning run. 온라인카지노
Park Joon-young, who saw more playing time in the second half, was another key contributor to the win. He came to bat as a pinch-hitter for Cho Su-hyun in the ninth inning with his team trailing 5-6 and hit a three-pitch changeup from KIA’s left-handed set-up man Choi Ji-min for a game-winning home run over the left field fence. It energized the Doosan bats, which had been slumping.
Park Jun-young also contributed to the scoring in the top of the ninth. With the bases loaded, Kang Seung-ho singled and Heo Kyung-min drew a walk to load the bases for Doosan, who took a 7-6 lead when pinch-hitter Kim In-tae singled through the right side of the infield. Park Jun-young then drove in another run with a slider out of the strike zone after a no-count battle with reliever Jang Hyun-sik.
Park started at third base against the Hanwha Eagles on April 12 and hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning off pitcher Lee Tae-yang. Against the SSG Landers on the 14th, he started and went 1-for-3. Against KIA on the 15th, where he was a pinch-hitter, he fulfilled his duties as a “new stealer” late in the game.
Park Jun-young, who was drafted by the NC Dinos in the 2016 rookie draft, wore a Doosan uniform as compensation for Park Se-hyuk, who signed as a free agent with NC. Despite playing sparingly in the first half of the season, he started 18 of the 31 games he played in the second half, batting .282 with three home runs and 12 RBIs to help fill in the gaps left by the inconsistency of the regular starters.
Doosan has won five straight games, starting on April 9 against the Samsung Lions. The momentum to reclaim fifth place is in the air. The ‘Unsung Hero’ has emerged and energized the team.