SEOUL (Interstat) — Benjamin pitched five innings and the Doosan Bears used an early offensive burst to beat the visiting NC Dinos 5-2 on Tuesday evening at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

The Dinos opened the scoring in the top of the first. Kim Ju-won fouled out to first for the first out, but Cheon Jae-hwan tripled to right-center field. Park Min-woo followed with a single to left that scored Cheon. Kim Whee-jip flied out to left, and Blaine Crim struck out to end the inning. NC added to its lead in the second. Kim Hyung-jun doubled down the right-field line, and after Kwon Hui-dong grounded out to short and Shin Jae-in grounded out to third, Oh Tae-yang doubled down the left-field line to score Kim. Oh later walked, and Cheon grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning.

Doosan was held scoreless in the first. Park Chan-ho flied out to right, An Jae-seok popped out to first and Park Jun-soon singled to left before Yang Eui-ji flied out to left. The Bears broke through in the bottom of the second. Kim Min-suk walked, Kang Seung-ho singled down the left-field line and Yang Suk-hwan laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners into scoring position. Jo Soo-haeng walked to load the bases, and Jung Soo-bin singled to right field, scoring Kang and Kim. Park Chan-ho then reached on a fielder’s choice and later singled down the right-field line, bringing Jung home. Park Jun-soon struck out to end the three-run rally.

Doosan added two more in the third. Yang Eui-ji homered to left field, and Kim Min-suk singled to center. Kang Seung-ho flied out to right and Yang Suk-hwan popped out to second, but Jo Soo-haeng doubled down the right-field line to score Kim. Jung Soo-bin struck out to end the inning, but the Bears had built a 5-2 advantage.

Benjamin made that lead hold. He worked five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The start continued a strong recent stretch in which he had allowed one earned run over six innings with 10 strikeouts and one earned run over five innings with eight strikeouts. Takada Takuto followed with two hitless innings, walking one and striking out two. Kim Taek-yeon then threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, and Lee Young-ha added a scoreless inning despite two walks and two strikeouts. Doosan’s bullpen combined for four scoreless innings behind Benjamin.

NC’s bullpen kept the game within reach. Choi Sung-young delivered 3 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out three. Lee Jun-hyeok struck out two in a scoreless inning with one walk. Choi Woo-seok recorded one out while allowing one walk and striking out one, and Choi Yo-han finished with two-thirds of a scoreless inning. Together, NC’s relievers put up 5 1/3 scoreless innings after the early damage, but the offense could not close the gap.

Yang Eui-ji led Doosan at the plate by going 1-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. An Jae-seok went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Jung Soo-bin, Park Chan-ho, Kang Seung-ho, Kim Min-suk and Jo Soo-haeng all contributed to a 10-hit attack. NC managed five hits, paced by Cheon Jae-hwan’s triple and double, Park Min-woo’s run-scoring single, Kim Hyung-jun’s double and Oh Tae-yang’s run-scoring double.

The Dinos threatened in the middle innings but could not cut into the deficit. In the third, Park Min-woo grounded out to first, Kim Whee-jip struck out and Blaine Crim grounded out to second. In the fourth, Kim Hyung-jun reached on a dropped third strike and Kwon Hui-dong walked, but Shin Jae-in flied out to center and Oh Tae-yang struck out. In the fifth, Cheon doubled down the right-field line, but Park Min-woo grounded out to second, Cheon advanced to third and Kim Whee-jip struck out. In the sixth, Blaine Crim struck out, An Joong-yeol struck out and Kwon Hui-dong grounded out to third. In the seventh, Shin Jae-in walked, but Oh Tae-yang fouled out and Kim Ju-won grounded into a double play that erased Shin at second. Kim Whee-jip was hit by a pitch in the eighth, but Blaine Crim struck out to end the threat.

Doosan also had chances to add insurance. In the fourth, An Jae-seok singled to right, but Park Jun-soon struck out. In the fifth, Yang Eui-ji grounded out to short, Kim Min-suk flied out to left and Kang Seung-ho popped out to second. In the sixth, Jung Soo-bin singled down the left-field line and Park Chan-ho singled to center, putting runners on first and second, but An Jae-seok flied out to center. In the seventh, Yang Eui-ji walked, but Kim Min-suk and Kang Seung-ho struck out. In the eighth, Lee Yu-chan struck out, Jo Soo-haeng walked and Jung Soo-bin lined out to second before Park Chan-ho flied out to right.

NC’s record dropped to 58-69-2, while Doosan moved to 64-62-4. The Bears had won two of their previous three games, including a home victory over Kia and a road win at Kiwoom, while the Dinos had alternated wins and losses over their previous four contests. Doosan also entered with recent success in the head-to-head series, having won the most recent meeting between the teams before NC answered with a one-run victory in the previous matchup. The announced attendance at Jamsil Stadium was 16,734.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of NC Dinos 7, Doosan Bears 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Doosan with a 54.9 percent probability to win.