(LEAD) Bears claim battle of bullpens to win KBO postseason war over Wiz

▲ Kim Min-gyu of the Doosan Bears pitches against the KT Wiz in the top of the first inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Min-gyu of the Doosan Bears returns to the dugout after completing the top of the third inning against the KT Wiz in Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Chris Flexen of the Doosan Bears pitches against the KT Wiz in the top of the seventh inning of Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Chris Flexen of the Doosan Bears celebrates after closing out the KT Wiz 2-0 in Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) postseason-pitching

(LEAD) Bears claim battle of bullpens to win KBO postseason war over Wiz

(ATTN: ADDS 3rd photo, comments throughout)

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- It was perhaps the worst possible situation for a 21-year-old reliever in his first postseason to enter.

The KT Wiz meant business against the Doosan Bears from the top of the first inning in Game 4 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. The first two batters had reached with singles, and the Bears were lucky that a runner got thrown out at home on an ensuing double.

Doosan starter Yoo Hee-kwan fell behind 2-0 in the count against cleanup Yoo Han-joon. In came right-hander Kim Min-gyu, who only made his postseason debut three days earlier in Game 2 of this series.

A picture of cool, calm and collected, Kim retired Yoo on a pop fly on his very first pitch. Kim then struck out Kang Baek-ho to end the Wiz threat.

Over the next four innings, Kim held the Wiz to just one single, while striking out four and issuing one walk.

It was exactly the type of relief outing the Bears needed. The Wiz had proven capable of putting up a crooked number when they broke out for five runs with two outs in the eighth inning in Thursday's Game 3. If Kim hadn't escaped the first inning jam without damage, the game could have gone out of control early for the Bears.

Mixing in sliders and forkballs with his four-seam fastballs, Kim silenced KT bats and kept the Bears in the game.

Doosan's Choi Joo-hwan blasted a two-run homer in the bottom fourth for a 2-0 lead, and Kim Min-gyu continued to stifle the Wiz lineup. He pitched around a leadoff single with a line out and a double play ball in the fifth, which turned out to be his final frame.

In all, Kim threw 49 pitches over 4 2/3 shutout innings, striking out four while giving up just one hit and one walk.

Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said he didn't necessarily expect Kim Min-gyu to come out of the first inning unscathed.

"As long as he minimized damage, we had other relievers ready to go after him," the skipper said. "But he pitched so well today."

Kim Min-gyu said making his first postseason appearance earlier in this series helped him prepare for Friday's outing.

"Back then, I was so nervous I barely felt my legs moving," Kim said. "Today, I was able to maintain really good focus. I prepared myself mentally to go in the first inning, too."

Lee Seung-jin handled one inning after Kim, and then in a daring move, the Bears brought their Game 1 starter, Chris Flexen, out of the bullpen.

Flexen had thrown 108 pitches over 7 1/3 innings and struck out 11 in Monday's 3-2 victory. Then on three days' rest, Flexen took care of the final three innings and allowed just one hit to pick up a save and earn the series MVP honor. In two appearances, he pitched 10 1/3 innings of two-run ball, with 13 strikeouts against five hits.

"My mindset (going into the game) was to finish it," Flexen said. "I had a job to do, and my job was to win ballgames and contribute in that manner."

On the other hand, the Wiz's bullpen strategy blew up in manager Lee Kang-chul's face for the second time this series. That decisive home run by Choi came against the Wiz's own Game 1 starter, So Hyeong-jun.

So came on with a man at second and two outs in the fourth. So threw 100 pitches in 6 2/3 shutout innings in that game. Manager Lee said before the game he would only consider using So at the start of a new inning without a runner on base, but with the Wiz on the brink of elimination, Lee had to take his chances with the 19-year-old right-hander.

So threw two straight balls, well outside the zone. After a strike made it 3-1, Choi turned on a fastball over the heart of the plate and drove it over the right field wall for a two-run shot.

So mostly settled down afterward, but the Wiz's offense was completely shut down against the Bears' bullpen.

Lee, the manager, came to So's defense afterward.

"He just made that one mistake," Lee said. "Choi Joo-hwan didn't miss it. I think Hyeong-jun otherwise pitched a great game."

(END)

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