Doosan Bears clinch best regular season record in KBO

All News 17:38 September 25, 2018

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- The Doosan Bears clinched the best regular season record in South Korean baseball on Tuesday with a dominant victory at home.

The Bears captured their third Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) pennant by blowing out the Nexen Heroes 13-2 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

The Bears improved to 86-46 and locked down first place in the 10-team league with 12 games remaining. By winning the pennant, the Bears also earned a bye straight to the Korean Series, the best-of-seven championship final in the KBO.

The second-place SK Wyverns defeated the LG Twins 16-7 on Tuesday, but at 72-58-1 (wins-losses-ties), they are 13 games back of the Bears with 13 games left. The Wyverns also can't catch the Bears in the win column.

Members of the Doosan Bears celebrate a grand slam by Oh Jae-il against the Nexen Heroes in the bottom of the seventh inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 25, 2018. The Bears won the game 13-2 to clinch the best regular season record with 12 games left. (Yonhap)

The Bears previously won the pennant in 1995 and 2016, and grabbed the Korean Series titles in both seasons as well.

The Bears are looking for their third championship in four years. They won it all in 2015 and 2016, and finished runner-up to the Kia Tigers in 2017.

The Bears climbed to the top on April 7 and have had sole possession of the lead for all but one day since then. They briefly shared the top spot with the SK Wyverns on April 28 and haven't had company at the top since.

On Tuesday, the Bears gave up the first run of the game in the top of the first, but responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 3-1 lead.

The Heroes got one back in the top fifth, but then the Bears blew the game wide open with a six-run seventh inning to go up by 9-2. No. 7 hitter Oh Jae-il launched a grand slam to lead the outburst.

The Bears added four more runs in the eighth inning to round out the scoring.

Doosan starter Lee Yong-chan scattered seven hits over five innings and held the Heroes to two runs, improving to 14-3 for the season.

Fans of the Doosan Bears cheer on their Korea Baseball Organization club during a regular season game against the Nexen Heroes at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 25, 2018. (Yonhap)

The Bears have been getting it done with the KBO's most lethal offense. Prior to Tuesday's game, they were leading the KBO in batting average (.309), runs scored (854), hits (1,452), triples (30), total bases (2,306), slugging percentage (.490) and on-base percentage (.375).

During Tuesday's game, Doosan's cleanup hitter Kim Jae-hwan became the first KBO player to put up 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs in three straight seasons.

He scored his 100th run in the bottom of the first inning to enter the record books. He entered the contest with 43 home runs and 128 RBIs, both tops in the KBO.