SUWON, South Korea (Interstat) — Choi Min-seok pitched six strong innings of six-hit, one-run ball as the Doosan Bears edged the KT Wiz 3-1 on Tuesday evening at Suwon Baseball Stadium.

The Bears, who improved to 59-50-4, wasted little time erasing an early deficit and then pulled ahead with a trio of solo scores across the middle frames. Jung Soo-bin slugged a home run in the fifth, Yang Eui-ji went deep in the sixth, and An Jae-seok delivered a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the seventh. That was more than enough for a pitching staff that allowed just one earned run all night.

KT grabbed the lead in the third inning when Ahn Hyun-min was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on Sam Hilliard’s groundout and scored on Kim Hyun-soo’s single to right-center. That gave the Wiz a 1-0 edge, but it was the only run they managed against Doosan pitching.

Doosan answered immediately, beginning with Jung’s solo shot to right field in the top of the fifth. Park Chan-ho had grounded out to short, and An Jae-seok had flied out to left after the homer, so the blast tied the game 1-1. The Bears then took their first lead one inning later when Yang Eui-ji turned on a pitch and sent it over the left-field wall. Kim Min-suk grounded out to start the sixth, and Yunior Severino walked, but Kim Dae-han grounded out to the catcher to end the inning with the Bears ahead 2-1.

The decisive insurance run came in the seventh. Ryu Seung-min fouled out to the catcher, but Jung Soo-bin singled to center-left to keep the inning alive. Park Chan-ho followed with a single to left-center, moving Jung to third. Then An Jae-seok stepped in against KT reliever Ju Kwon and hit a fielder’s choice to the first baseman, allowing Jung to score and stretching the lead to 3-1. Park Chan-ho advanced to second on the play, but Park Jun-soon grounded into a double play to end the inning.

From there, the Doosan bullpen took over and locked down the win. Kim Taek-yeon worked a perfect seventh with two strikeouts, setting down Choi Won-jun, Kim Sang-su and Ahn Hyun-min in order. Lee Young-ha allowed one hit and struck out two in the eighth, getting through Sam Hilliard, Kim Hyun-soo and Kwon Dong-jin. Takada Takuto closed out the ninth with a clean inning, inducing groundouts from Heo Kyoung-min, Ryu Jun-kyu and Cho Dae-hyun to seal the victory.

Choi Min-seok earned the decision, improving his season ledger with a line of six innings, six hits, one earned run and five strikeouts. He allowed the lone KT score in the third and then settled in, retiring the side in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. So Hyeong-jun took the loss for KT, despite a solid outing of his own. He allowed two earned runs on five hits over six innings while striking out six. The two homers by Jung and Yang were the only blemishes against him.

KT’s bullpen kept the game close until the seventh, when Ju Kwon faltered. Ju Kwon faced only a third of an inning, recording one out but giving up two hits and one earned run. Lee Sang-dong followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out one, and Jeon Yong-ju added a strikeout in a clean eighth. The Wiz had entered the game with the league’s best record at 64-42-2, but they could not generate enough offense to overcome the hard-throwing Bears pitchers.

The loss snapped a two-game win streak for KT, which had beaten the Shinsegae Landers on Sunday and played them to a tie on Friday. Doosan, meanwhile, bounced back from a loss to the NC Dinos on Thursday and a split of two games against the Lotte Giants over the weekend. The Bears had taken the series opener against Lotte on Sunday, lost the previous Friday, and then fell at NC on Thursday before this victory.

The attendance was announced at 10,173, and the game lasted 2 hours, 47 minutes. Both teams finished with seven hits apiece, but Doosan’s two home runs proved to be the difference. Jung Soo-bin went 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI, while Yang Eui-ji also had a solo homer and an RBI. The rest of the Doosan lineup combined for just three hits, but timely hitting in the middle innings was enough.

For KT, Kim Hyun-soo had two hits, including the RBI single in the third, and Cho Dae-hyun also singled twice. The Wiz managed to put runners on base in several innings but could not string together the necessary hits. They left a runner on third in the third, stranded a pair in the fourth, and never advanced a runner past first base after the fourth inning.

The game also carried significance in the broader KBO standings. KT remained comfortably atop the standings with the league’s best record, but Doosan continued to creep closer in the race for a top seed. The two teams were scheduled to meet again at the same ballpark the following evening, with the series continuing Wednesday and Thursday before Doosan returned home for a weekend set against the Kiwoom Heroes.

Beyond the immediate result, the win provided a measure of confidence for Doosan against a team that had dominated the season series. The Bears had lost five of their previous eight meetings with the Wiz, including a 6-0 defeat on May 26, an 11-3 rout on May 28, and another 6-2 setback on June 16. The only bright spot in that stretch was a 2-1 victory on June 18 and a 2-2 tie on July 21. Tuesday’s victory was Doosan’s first true road win at Suwon since an 8-7, 11-inning triumph on April 10.

The game also served as a showcase for the starting pitchers, both of whom worked into the sixth inning. Choi faced 26 batters and threw 91 pitches, while So Hyeong-jun threw 99 pitches and also faced 26 batters. Neither issued many free passes, though So walked two and hit one batter. The difference was the long ball, and both solo homers came off fastballs that caught too much of the plate.

As the game unfolded, the tension grew in the late innings. After Doosan took the lead in the sixth, KT threatened briefly in the seventh when Kim Sang-su grounded out and Ahn Hyun-min struck out, but that was as close as they came. Kim Taek-yeon’s crisp relief appearance handed the game to Lee Young-ha, and Takada wrapped up the ninth with a 1-2-3 frame.

The final out came on a groundout to short, and Doosan’s players celebrated a hard-fought victory that tightened the season series. For KT, the focus turned to the next night’s rematch, as they sought to reassert their dominance at home. The series was shaping up to be a battle between the league’s top team and a hungry challenger.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of KT Wiz 5, Doosan Bears 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave KT a 57.60 percent probability to win. The projection favored the home team, but the Bears overcame the odds with a disciplined pitching performance and timely power.