KBO Recap: Doosan Bears 9-2 NC Dinos | September 13 Highlights & Scores

Game Summary

The Doosan Bears flexed their offensive muscle on Saturday evening, overwhelming the NC Dinos with a decisive 9-2 victory at Jamsil Stadium. What looked like it might be a competitive matchup through the early innings quickly spiraled out of control for NC’s pitching staff, as Doosan’s lineup came alive in the middle frames. The Bears’ balanced attack—mixing home runs with timely hitting—proved too much for the Dinos to overcome in what became a lopsided affair.

Pitching Performance

Min-seok Choi was the star on the mound for Doosan, earning his 14th win of the season despite not pitching a complete game. Working five innings, Choi allowed eight hits and just two runs while striking out four batters and walking none. His efficiency kept NC off the board through most of his tenure, and the Bears’ bullpen was equally stingy, with Chi-guk Park, Takada, Taek-yeon Kim, and Young-ha Lee combining for four shutout innings to seal the deal.

The Dinos’ pitching was considerably less fortunate. Starter Toda crumbled early, lasting just two and two-thirds innings while giving up six hits and seven earned runs. That early barrage essentially decided the game before most fans had settled into their seats. The NC bullpen showed more promise, with Jun-hyeok Lee, Jin-wook Ryu, Tae-hun Kim, and Jun-won Kim allowing just one run combined over five innings, but the damage was already done.

Offensive Highlights

Doosan’s bats came to life in explosive fashion, particularly in the third inning when the Bears plated multiple runs to take command. Min-seok Kim launched a two-run homer off Toda to give Doosan an early cushion, while Severino added a solo shot in the same frame. Yang Ui-ji would get his turn later, connecting for his 20th home run of the season in the fifth inning against Jin-wook Ryu. These three long balls accounted for four of Doosan’s nine runs.

NC managed to scrape together a couple of runs, but lacked the offensive firepower to keep pace. Hwi-jip Kim went 2-for-3 at the plate, and Gun-woo Park chipped in with two hits including a triple in the fourth inning. Jung-yeol An and Jae-hwan Cheon also recorded hits, but the Dinos couldn’t string together the kind of consistent hitting needed to mount a comeback. Su-bin Jung drove in a run with a double in the second, while An contributed an RBI as well, but these isolated moments couldn’t overcome the early damage.

Key Play of the Game

The pivotal moment came in the second inning when Jae-seok An lifted a sacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded and one out. That play gave Doosan a 3-0 lead that proved insurmountable. While it doesn’t jump out as a highlight-reel moment, it exemplified Doosan’s fundamentally sound approach to baseball. The Bears didn’t need grand slams in every at-bat—they executed small ball, moved runners, and capitalized on opportunities. Once Toda began struggling in the third, allowing back-to-back homers, the game had already shifted beyond NC’s reach.

Standings Impact

This win pushed the Doosan Bears to 64 victories against 60 losses with four draws, keeping them in fifth place in the standings. The NC Dinos slipped slightly to 59-61 record (with two draws) and remain in sixth, now further back in the playoff picture as the regular season enters its final stretch. For a Doosan team trying to make a postseason push, this kind of dominant win—especially one built on early pitching excellence and balanced offensive contributions—represents exactly the type of performance needed down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Dinos will need to regroup quickly, as their pitching depth was exposed and their bats couldn’t generate enough offense to stay competitive.