Doosan Bears veteran hitter Heo Kyung-min (34) credits hitting coach Lee Young-soo for his hot hitting this season.
Doosan won 8-4 against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 Shinhan Solar Bank KBO League on Wednesday at Jamsil Stadium.
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak to Samsung Electronics. With 48 wins, two ties, and 41 losses, Doosan is still in third place, but has moved into a game behind second-place Samsung (47 wins, two ties, and 40 losses).
Heo was at the center of the victory. Starting at second base and batting third for Doosan, Heo went 4-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and one run scored. He also drew a walk and reached base in every plate appearance.
From the first at-bat, Heo was on fire.
In the bottom of the first inning, Heo Kyung-min came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs and hit a two-run double to left field to give Doosan the lead.
Kim Jae-hwan followed with a three-run blast to right field to give Doosan a 4-0 lead.
Heo Kyung-min added another run for Doosan in the second inning. In the bottom of the second, Doosan put runners on first and second with no outs after back-to-back singles by Jeon Damin and Jeong Soo-bin. Heo then hit a single to right to bring home the runners.
After walking to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Heo hit an infield single to score Musa from second base to give Doosan a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning. Henry Ramos followed with a single to put runners on first and third, but Jeong Soo-bin scored from third base to give Doosan an insurance run.
In the eighth inning, with Doosan clinging to a slim lead, Heo Kyung-min came to the rescue.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Doosan put runners on second and third with an infield single by Cho Su-hyun and a walk and double steal by Jung Soo-bin.
Heo Kyung-min came to the plate next and hit a slider from Samsung bullpen pitcher Kim Dae-woo for a two-run double to center field.
It had been 338 days since Heo had four hits in a game since Aug. 11 last year against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles.
After the game, Heo celebrated Samsung Electronics’ escape from a six-game losing streak, saying, “Honestly, it doesn’t feel good to keep 카지노 커뮤니티 losing to a team. “We were losing against a certain team, so all the players were hungry for a win before coming to this series,” he said, adding, “We will win tomorrow’s game and make it a winning series.
“I don’t remember the last time I had four hits,” Heo said, but he praised his teammates for their good at-bats, saying, “The hitters in front of me made good runs, and in the eighth inning, (Cho) Su-hyun and (Jung) Su-bin made great stolen bases, so I felt comfortable at the plate.”
“I saw that the outfielders were playing forward defense, so I tried to look wide in the strike zone,” Heo said of his eighth-inning hit. I don’t remember hitting Kim Dae-woo’s pitches well, but I had good momentum today, so I thought I just needed to hit the ball. I got a strong pitch and it came through for a hit.”
This season, Heo is batting .353 (96-for-272) with six home runs, 46 RBIs, 50 runs scored and a .903 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). He is ranked fifth in the league in batting average.
He said, “Hitting coach Lee Young-soo helps me a lot. I’m doing well not because of my glasses, but because of him,” he said, adding, “I’m a player who thinks a lot at the plate, and that changed after talking a lot with Coach Lee since the winter.”
Heo said that his coach, Lee Young-soo, sometimes tells him to ‘go for it’. “I was often stuck in a rut at the plate, so he told me to think of it as a rough hit,” he said, adding, “He tells me a lot about not utilizing the good things you have.”
“I’ve heard that a lot since I made my professional debut, but I think the way he explains it to me is good for my ears,” Heo said, adding, “I wish I would have realized what I was feeling this year sooner.”
Despite his high batting average, the season hasn’t been without its ups and downs. On May 15, Heo injured his right shoulder while playing first base and was removed from the first team roster, returning on June 1, just three days later.
“My goal before the season was to be healthy and play full-time. I missed two weeks, so it’s hard to call my season a success to be honest,” Heo said.
However, Heo said, “I’m trying to play as much as possible in the remaining matches. That’s my goal for the rest of the season,” he said.