SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — Choi Min-seok pitched six strong innings and Kang Seung-ho drove in five runs as the Doosan Bears defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at Gocheok Sky Dome.

Choi allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out six to earn his third consecutive victory. He had won his previous two starts, both six-inning outings in which he allowed no earned runs. Kang went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a sacrifice fly and a run scored, providing the bulk of Doosan’s offense.

The Bears, who improved to 42-40-2, broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run fourth inning and added three more runs in the eighth. Kiwoom, now 29-55-2, managed only seven hits and left six runners on base.

Doosan opened the scoring in the second inning. An Jae-seok singled to center-right and Park Chan-ho doubled down the left-field line, putting runners at second and third. Ryu Seung-min walked to load the bases. Kang then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring An to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

Kiwoom answered in the third. Kim Woong-bin doubled to left-center, advanced to third on a groundout by Seo Geon-chang and scored on a single to center by Cho Won-tae (Jae-hyun), tying the game at 1-1. The rally stalled when Matthew Davidson struck out and Keston Hiura singled but left Choo Jae-hyun stranded at third.

The Bears took control in the fourth. An walked, Park Chan-ho singled, and Ryu sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Kang then doubled to left-center, scoring An and Park Chan-ho to make it 3-1. Jung Soo-bin reached on a fielder’s choice, and after an error by Kiwoom pitcher Kim Yun-ha allowed Kang to advance to third, Kim Min-jun Baek-san Min-seok grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Kang to score, pushing the lead to 4-1.

Kim Yun-ha, who entered in relief during the fourth, settled down and completed four innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts. He kept the Heroes within striking distance, but Kiwoom’s offense could not generate further threats against Choi and the Doosan bullpen.

Choi departed after six innings, having thrown 92 pitches. He allowed only one extra-base hit — the double by Kim Woong-bin — and retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced.

The Doosan bullpen combined for three scoreless innings. Park Chi-guk worked a perfect seventh, allowing one hit and striking out none. Lee Byeong-heon pitched the eighth, giving up one hit and striking out two. Kim Jeong-woo closed the ninth with a clean inning, striking out one.

Kiwoom’s best chance to cut into the deficit came in the seventh. Gwon Hyuk-bin doubled down the left-field line with one out, but Kim Woong-bin grounded out to pitcher Park Chi-guk to end the inning.

Doosan added insurance in the eighth off Kiwoom reliever Cho Young-gun. Park Chan-ho doubled to left-center, Ryu sacrificed him to third, and Kang doubled down the right-field line to score Park Chan-ho, making it 5-1. Kim Min-jun Baek-san Min-seok then singled to center, scoring Kang to extend the lead to 6-1. Son Ah-seop followed with a double to left-center, scoring pinch-runner Jo Soo-haeng for a 7-1 advantage. Park Jun-soon struck out to end the inning.

The Bears scored their final run in the ninth when a pair of infield errors helped push across a run. With two outs and runners on first and second, a throwing error allowed a run to score, making it 8-1.

Kang Seung-ho’s performance highlighted a balanced Doosan attack. The first baseman drove in runs in three separate innings and now has 57 RBIs for the season. Park Chan-ho reached base three times with two doubles and a single, scoring twice.

For Kiwoom, Cho Won-tae (Jae-hyun) went 1 for 4 with an RBI, and Kim Woong-bin had a double and a run scored. Keston Hiura singled and walked, but the Heroes could not capitalize on their opportunities. Kiwoom’s pitching staff used six pitchers, with starter Kim Yun-ha taking the loss after allowing three runs in four innings. Relievers Park Jeong-hun, Park Ji-sung, Park Jin-hyung and Cho Young-gun combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings, but the early damage was too much to overcome.

The win gave Doosan a 2-1 series lead after splitting the first two games of the weekend set. The Bears lost 6-5 on Friday and won 8-5 on Saturday. Kiwoom, which had won three of its previous five games, struggled to mount sustained offense against Choi and the Doosan bullpen.

The most critical sequence occurred in the fourth inning when Doosan turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 lead. After Kiwoom had tied the game in the third, the Bears responded immediately with three runs on two hits, a walk and an error. Kang’s double cleared the bases and the error on the fielder’s choice allowed an extra run to score, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Choi’s pitching provided the foundation. He worked efficiently, throwing strikes on 63 of his 92 pitches and keeping Kiwoom’s hitters off balance with a mix of fastballs and breaking balls. He struck out Hiura, Lim Byeong-wuk and Davidson twice.

The series continues with the Bears returning home to face the Shinsegae Landers on Tuesday, July 7. The Heroes will travel to face the KT Wiz on the same day.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 4-2 Doosan victory. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Bears a 62.40 percent probability to win. Doosan was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5. The combined total of 9 runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.