It was a heart-wrenching moment for Doosan Bears fans. Three players were substituted for injuries in just one game. Will they be able to play in the last of three consecutive games on Saturday weekend.
Doosan lost 4-9 in the home game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 7th.
With the latest loss, Doosan ended its two-game winning streak to mark 25 wins and 35 losses. Doosan maintained its ninth position. On the other hand, Lotte escaped three consecutive losses and tied for third with KT with 33 wins, three draws and 28 losses.
On the day, Doosan listed its starting lineup in the order of Jeong Su-bin (center fielder), Kim Dong-joon (designated hitter), Yang Eui-ji (catcher), Jake Cave (right fielder), Kim Jae-hwan (left fielder), Kim Min-seok (first baseman), Park Joon-soon (third baseman), Park Gye-beom (striker), and Yeo Dong-gun (second baseman). The starting pitcher was left-hander Choi Seung-yong.
However, three of the players listed in these starting lineup were replaced one after another with less than five innings.
The first player to be left out was Park Gye-beom. Park Gye-beom had a chance to start as the eighth batter and shortstop. At the bottom of the second inning, with one out and no runners on the base, he hit a clean hit to the middle to get on base. The next batter is Yeo Dong-gun. After the first foul, Park Gye-beom attempted to steal second base while the ball was coming in for the second time. However, while going to the 2nd pitch and stopping again for a moment, he failed to get out.
Park seemed okay as he played defense in the top of the third inning. However, he was substituted before the fourth inning when Lee was about to defend himself. His physical condition was reported shortly afterwards. "Park Gye-beom replaced his right shin for protection due to muscle pain. However, it is not a serious situation, and he replaced it as a manager," a Doosan official said. 먹튀검증
Veteran center fielder Jeong Su-bin was also substituted before the fifth inning. After hitting a midfielder hit from the bottom of the first inning, Jeong was out after hitting a fly ball to right field in the bottom of the third inning and an infield grounder in the bottom of the fourth inning, respectively. He entered the batter's box with a chance to hit a runner on the first base in the bottom of the fourth inning, but lowered his head by hitting a ground ball to the first base. In addition, Jeong was replaced by Kim Dae-han during the defense in the top of the fifth inning after failing to run anymore. The reason was his injury. "He felt pain in his right hip joint while trying to throw a ball to the third base during Jeon Min-jae's at-bat in the second inning," a Doosan official said. In fact, a video of Jeong touching his right hip joint after spraying the ball to the third base was captured on the broadcast screen.
Ahead of the match, Doosan's acting coach Cho Sung-hwan said, "I told Jung Soo-bin that I was grateful for finishing the match until the end of the match on June 6. I hope he can play the role of a charge leader in his original form." However, he failed to complete the match due to an unexpected injury.
This was not the end of his career. Yang Eui-ji, a veteran homebody, could no longer play this time. Wearing a starting catcher mask, Yang had a heavy hit in the bottom of the first inning and struck out in the bottom of the third inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he walked for the fifth time with one out and no runners on the base. The next was his 700th walk (his 34th all-time). The next batter was Jake Cave. After Cave's fourth foul, Yang suddenly showed signs to the dugout that he can't run. Eventually, Yang was replaced by Kim Ki-yeon, a pinch runner. "He complained of discomfort to his right knee," a Doosan official said of Yang, adding, "We replaced him to protect him."
In this way, even before Doosan finished the fifth inning, three of the nine starting lineups were out of the lineup. As a result, Kim Dae-han, who replaced Jung Soo-bin and Yang Eui-ji, went 0 for 2, and Kim Ki-yeon, went 0 for 1. However, Lee Yoo-chan performed brilliantly with 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 run, and 1 stolen base from 3 at-bats while making a comeback to injury.
In addition, a total of four players were included in Doosan's starting lineup. Only Kim Dong-joon, Kim Min-seok, Park Joon-soon and Yeo Dong-gun played full-time without replacement.
While the season is still in full swing, Doosan, which has a busy way to go, is bound to be nervous about the number of injuries. Doosan will challenge the Winning Series for the first time under the acting coach Cho Sung-hwan. For now, all three have been replaced as protection, and attention is focusing on whether they will play normally on the 8th.