Doosan Bears vs Kiwoom Heroes

Doosan wasted no time setting the tone. They jumped on Kiwoom starter Jeon Jun-pyo — who entered with a promising 1.74 August ERA — for multiple runs in the first inning. Jeon was pulled early after failing to contain the Bears' lineup, having allowed five earned runs before recording the fifth out of the game.

Kiwoom briefly responded with a lone run in the top of the third against Doosan starter Choi Min-seok, cutting the deficit. But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished in the bottom half when Doosan third baseman Ahn Jae-seok crushed a solo home run to left — his seventh of the season — restoring the multi-run cushion.

The Bears broke the game open in the fifth. With two outs and a runner on first, Ahn struck again, launching a towering two-run homer to right field that cleared the Jamsil fence and stretched the lead to double digits. Park Chan-ho greeted him at home plate as the sellout crowd roared.

Doosan kept the pressure on through the middle and late innings, tacking on runs in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth. Backstop Yang Eui-ji joined the home-run party in the ninth with his 17th blast of the season, a no-doubt shot that capped the scoring at 15-1.

The game effectively ended in the first inning. Jeon Jun-pyo, who had posted a 1.74 ERA across four August starts entering the day, could not replicate that form. He faced eight batters and recorded only one out before being lifted, surrendering five runs on four hits and two walks. The Bears sent nine men to the plate before the inning was over, and Kiwoom never recovered.

Choi Min-seok (Doosan Bears) — The right-hander earned his league-leading 12th win of the season, working six solid innings. He allowed just one run on five hits while striking out five. Choi lowered his season ERA to around 2.60, cementing his place atop the KBO wins leaderboard. Player of the Match.

Ahn Jae-seok (Doosan Bears) — The third baseman was the offensive star, delivering a solo home run in the third and a two-run blast in the fifth. Ahn finished with three hits and three RBIs, providing the early knockout blows.

Yang Eui-ji (Doosan Bears) — The veteran catcher went deep in the ninth (his 17th HR) and reached base multiple times in the rout.

Jeon Jun-pyo (Kiwoom Heroes) — A day to forget. The promising young righty lasted just one out and was charged with five earned runs. His ERA ballooned from 3.93 to above 5.00.

Doosan out-hit Kiwoom decisively, pounding out 16 hits to the Heroes' 6. The Bears drew seven walks while the pitching staff issued only three. Doosan also played error-free baseball for the second straight game — a significant improvement after a 10-game error streak that had plagued them from mid-August. Kiwoom committed two defensive miscues, extending a season-long struggle that has seen them post the league's worst fielding percentage.

Choi Min-seok threw 89 pitches across six innings, 62 for strikes (69.7%). The Bears' bullpen covered the final three frames without incident, preserving the 14-run margin.

Doosan improved to 61-52-4, holding firm in 5th place in the tightly-contested KBO standings. With 31 games remaining, the Bears sit 3.5 games back of 4th-placed LG and 1.5 games clear of 6th-placed Lotte. Their offence, which had struggled in the previous week's road series against KT, appears to have rediscovered its rhythm.

Kiwoom (42-76-3) remain anchored to the bottom of the table, 28.5 games out of first. Their season-long pitching issues were laid bare once again. The Heroes next face the SSG Landers on Tuesday, 1 September.

Doosan travel to face the Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday, 1 September.

The Bears did exactly what a fifth-place team should do against a last-place opponent: crush them early and never let up. Choi Min-seok delivered another ace-quality outing, and the offence showed the kind of depth that could make Doosan a dangerous dark horse in the final stretch. For Kiwoom, this was further confirmation that 2026 is a rebuilding year.