(LEAD) Korean Series-Game 5
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| ▲ NC Dinos players celebrate their 5-0 victory over the Doosan Bears in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Na Sung-bum of the NC Dinos hits an RBI single against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Aaron Altherr of the NC Dinos hits an RBI single against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Yang Eui-ji of the NC Dinos (R) celebrates his two-run home run against the Doosan Bears with third base coach Jin Jong-kil in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Koo Chang-mo of the NC Dinos pitches against the Doosan Bears in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Yang Eui-ji of the NC Dinos celebrates his two-run home run against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 23, 2020. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Korean Series-Game 5
(LEAD) Dinos on verge of Korean Series title after shutting out Bears 5-0
(ATTN: ADDS comments throughout, last photo)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- The NC Dinos are one win away from capturing their first South Korean baseball championship.
Starter Koo Chang-mo fired seven shutout innings, and cleanup Yang Eui-ji blasted a two-run home run in the bottom sixth, lifting the Dinos to a 5-0 victory in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday.
Yang's shot followed Aaron Altherr's tiebreaking RBI single in the fifth. The Dinos added two insurance runs in the seventh.
After their second straight shutout, the Dinos lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. They can clinch the title in Game 6, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. start on Tuesday at the dome. They won Game 4 by 3-0.
In 37 previous Korean Series, teams have been tied at two games apiece nine times. And Game 5 winners went on to win the title on seven occasions.
The game had the makings of a pitching duel between the two starters, as Koo and his counterpart, Chris Flexen, traded zeroes through the first four innings.
It wasn't for the lack of chances by the two lineups.
The Bears couldn't cash in after putting two aboard with a one-out walk and a follow-up double in the second inning. Park Sei-hyok and Oh Jae-il, a combined 5-for-28 (.179) this series before Monday, lined out and grounded out to kill the rally.
Back-to-back singles with two outs in the top third amounted to nothing for the Bears, as Kim Jae-hwan hit a soft grounder to first for the final out.
The Dinos had their first opportunity go to waste in the bottom fourth. After being held without a baserunner against Flexen, the Dinos got consecutive two-out singles ahead of Kang Jin-sung, who struck out swinging on a high fastball.
The Dinos finally solved Flexen in the bottom fifth. No Jin-hyuk drew a four-pitch walk to lead things off, and reached second on a grounder. Aaron Altherr then hit a single to center, with No just beating the throw home with a head-first slide that made it 1-0 Dinos.
Yang then gave the Dinos a 3-0 advantage. Following Na Sung-bum's one-out single, Yang jumped on a 1-2 curveball from Flexen and drove it to straightaway center for his second career postseason home run.
Yang was the 2016 Korean Series MVP for the Bears when they swept the Dinos, and now he's inflicting damage on his former team. Yang also drove in the winning run with an RBI single in a 3-0 victory in Game 4 on Saturday.
Yang tried to downplay the significance of homering against his former team.
"It doesn't really mean much, other than that it helped our team win today," Yang said. "After that first run in the fifth, we needed some breathing room. Flexen had been the best pitcher this postseason and I wanted to get to him. It was pretty exciting to homer off of him."
The Dinos scored twice against the Bears' subpar bullpen in the seventh. With two aboard at one out, Mo Chang-min delivered a pinch-hit single, and Na Sung-bum followed with an RBI single of his own -- his third hit of the game.
Koo was hooked after allowing a leadoff triple to begin the eighth, but Kim Jin-sung and Won Jong-hyan slammed the door shut for the Dinos' second straight shutout.
NC manager Lee Dong-wook said he'd expected a pitching duel between Koo and Flexen, and scoring the first run was huge.
"Yang Eui-ji's two-run home run was the decisive blow," Lee said. "Koo Chang-mo got into some jams early but he escaped those nicely."
The Dinos earned a bye to the Korean Series by posting the best regular season record, and they went 16 days between the final regular season game and the first Korean Series game.
After winning the opener, the Dinos dropped Games 2 and 3. They've won the last two games by a combined 8-0.
"I think we finally played our game today. Winning Game 4 really lifted some pressure off our shoulders," Lee noted. "Our players are in perfect rhythm now, and we'll try to keep that up tomorrow."
The Bears' last run came in the bottom seventh in a 7-6 win in Game 3 on Friday. They became only the second team -- after the 2007 Bears -- to be shut out in two straight Korean Series games.
And with the majority of his regulars slumping, Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said he can only juggle his batting order so much.
The one hitter who has remained in his spot the entire series, cleanup Kim Jae-hwan, also happens to be their worst hitter at the moment. After going 0-for-4 Monday, Kim is just 1-for-20 in the series.
"It's hard to get anything going when your cleanup hitter isn't doing anything," the manager said. "But (Kim Jae-hwan) has come this far, and he's got to take care of his business."
Manager Kim, who is managing in his sixth consecutive Korean Series with the Bears, said he hasn't seen a slump quite as extensive as this.
"I think the guys have lost confidence," he said. "In their mind, they want to go up there and do well. But their body isn't cooperating."
(END)
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