Doosan Bears infielder Yang Seok-hwan treated the home fans at the ballpark to a spectacular home run display on Sunday afternoon, extending his team’s winning streak. It was his third straight 20-homer season, and he’s one step closer to reaching the milestone.

Doosan won the 14th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions 8-2 on Sunday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Following an 8-7 come-from-behind victory on Sept. 9 and a 4-0 win in the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 10, the Lions collected three wins in a four-game weekend series and set themselves up to continue their push for a top-five finish.메이저놀이터

Yang Seok-hwan batted fifth and started at first base on the day, blasting four hits, one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. He was physically tired from playing a doubleheader the day before, but he swung the bat as hard as anyone.

Yang did his part from the first at-bat. With the score tied at 0-0, he led off the second inning with a single to left field against Samsung starter Choi Chae-heung. He then shook up the Samsung infield with a surprise steal of second base when Kim Jae-hwan came to bat. After advancing to third on Kim Jae-hwan’s single to right, Kang Seung-ho immediately followed with a two-run double to home plate to give Doosan the lead.

Yang’s performance continued. In the bottom of the fifth inning, with Doosan leading 3-0 and runners on second and third, he blasted a three-run homer off reliever Noh Gun-woo to make the score 6-0. It was his 18th home run of the season against the KIA Tigers in Jamsil on July 7, reactivating his home run arsenal for the first time in three days.

Working a one-ball-to-strike count, he took a four-pitch, 144-kilometer high fastball with a perfect swing and sent it over the left field fence for a 125-meter shot.

Doosan used a combination of batting power from Yang and ace Raul Alcantara’s six innings of one-run (unearned) relief to knock off Samsung and stay in sixth place, three games behind fifth-place SSG Landers.

Yang said after the game, “The home run in the fifth inning felt like it was going to go over the fence the moment it hit the bat. It was my favorite high ball, so I swung confidently and it paid off,” said Yang. “It was a tough week physically, but I’m glad we were able to finish the weekend series on a high note.”

He also made no secret of his desire to hit 20 home runs for the third straight year. After being traded to Doosan from the LG Twins just before the start of the 2021 season, Yang set a new career high with 28 homers in the regular season. He also hit 20 home runs last year, continuing to be the “Jamsil Geopo,” and is on pace to reach the 20-homer mark again this year.

As he is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career after this season, he is determined to hit as many home runs as possible in the remaining games, not only for himself but also for the team. He believes that the only way to make Doosan smile is to perform the “heart ceremony” he performs after hitting a home run on the field.

When it comes to Yang Seok-hwan’s “heart ceremony,” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop is no exception. In this game, Lee joined in the “heart ceremony” with a big smile right after Yang’s home run.

Yang said, “I told you at the beginning of the season, I’m not a good player if I don’t hit 20 home runs. I think I need to hit at least 20 home runs,” he said. “Home runs are very important for a team to win a lot. When we were on a winning streak, we had a lot of home runs, but when we were on a losing streak, we didn’t have a lot of home runs.”

“The coach knows the importance of home runs better than anyone, so I think he’s happy when I do the heart gesture,” he said, adding, “I should show it to him more often, but it’s hard because the room is so big.”