Bears falter, Giants take series finale 6-1

BUSAN, South Korea (Interstat) — The Doosan Bears’ three-game winning streak came to an abrupt end Thursday night as the Lotte Giants erupted for five runs in the fourth inning and rode a dominant start from Elvin Rodríguez to a 6-1 victory at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium.

Rodríguez (3-1) allowed one earned run on six hits over six innings, striking out eight and walking one in front of an announced crowd of 17,334. The right-hander rebounded sharply from a loss in his previous outing, when he gave up three earned runs in five innings against the LG Twins.

Zach Logue (1-3) took the loss for Doosan after surrendering five runs, four earned, on eight hits in 3⅔ innings. He struck out two and walked none.

The Bears had won the first two games of the series by a combined 15-3 margin, but Lotte’s offense broke out in the middle innings to salvage the finale.

Doosan struck first in the top of the second inning when Daz Cameron launched a solo home run to center field off Rodríguez, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead. It was Cameron’s only hit of the night in four at-bats.

Lotte answered in the bottom half of the frame. Son Seong-bin doubled over the head of the left fielder, scoring Son Ho-young to tie the game. Jeon Min-jae followed with a double down the left-field line, plating Son Seong-bin to put Lotte ahead 2-1.

The Giants broke the game open in the fourth. Yoo Kang-nam singled to center-right, and Shin Yoon-hoo doubled to left-center, putting runners on second and third. Jeon Min-jae then singled to left, scoring Yoo Kang-nam and advancing Shin Yoon-hoo to third. Han Tae-yang grounded out to second, allowing Shin Yoon-hoo to score and moving Jeon Min-jae to second. Jo-jo Reyes singled to left, driving in Jeon Min-jae to make it 5-1.

Lotte added an insurance run in the seventh when Han Tae-yang singled, moved to third on a single by Reyes and scored on a groundout by Jeon Jun-woo.

Rodríguez was effective throughout, working out of a jam in the third inning when the Bears put two runners on with one out. He struck out Kim Min-seok to end the threat. The Bears managed only two hits after the third inning, both singles in the fifth that were erased by a double play.

Doosan’s bullpen held Lotte scoreless over the final four innings. Lee Young-ha pitched a perfect seventh, striking out one. Choi Ji-kang allowed one hit but no runs in the eighth, and Yun Tae-ho worked a scoreless ninth with one strikeout. Choi Jun-ho surrendered two hits and one run in two-thirds of an inning.

Lotte’s bullpen was equally effective. Hyun Do-hoon pitched a scoreless seventh, Park Jeong-min worked a clean eighth with a strikeout, and Choi Jun-yong allowed two hits in the ninth but kept the Bears off the board.

The Giants outhit the Bears 12-8. Jeon Min-jae went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Lotte. For Doosan, Cameron’s home run accounted for the only run.

Despite the loss, Doosan (9-12-1) remains ahead of Lotte (7-14-1) in the standings. The Bears dropped to 9-12-1 overall, while the Giants improved to 7-14-1.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 4-3 Doosan victory, and the Bears carried a 50.70 percent win probability according to the ELO system. Lotte had been listed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5. The total of seven runs fell short of the over/under line of 9.5.

The Bears return home to face the LG Twins in a three-game series beginning Friday. Lotte travels to face the Kia Tigers for a three-game set starting the same day.