Doosan Bears Face Tough Week Against KBO Title Contenders

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- Having been the best team in South Korean baseball in June, the Doosan Bears will have their mettle tested this week against a pair of title contenders.

The Bears, in fifth place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at 33-31-2 (wins-losses-ties), will open the new week with a three-game series against second-place KT Wiz (38-25-1) at home, Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, from Tuesday to Thursday.

Then it will be followed by a three-game set against the Jamsil co-tenants, the KBO-leading LG Twins (41-24-0), from Friday to Sunday.

The Bears own the best winning percentage this month at 8-3-1, a run powered by the pitching staff that has put up a league-best 2.67 ERA.

They have lost four out of six meetings so far against both the Wiz and the Twins this season.

The Twins hold a two-game lead over the Wiz for the top spot, with both of them having won two straight games.

Before taking on the Bears, the Twins will visit fourth-place Kia Tigers (34-31-1) in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The Wiz will play the Tigers for the weekend series at their home in Suwon, just south of Seoul.

Elsewhere in the KBO, the two bottom feeders will square off in the capital city on the weekend, as ninth-place Kiwoom Heroes (26-40-1) host 10th-ranked Lotte Giants (24-39-1).

The Heroes started last week in the league cellar, trailing the Giants by 1 1/5 games. But the Heroes went 4-2-0 for the week, including a three-game sweep of the Hanwha Eagles, while the Giants went the opposite way with a 2-4-0 record last week to drop to last place.

The Eagles (32-21-1) fell from fourth to sixth in the standings after getting swept, and will look for a bounceback with three games against seventh-place NC Dinos (28-34-1) and then three more against third-place Samsung Lions (36-27-1).

The Eagles are 1-5-0 against the Lions this year, their worst mark against any opponent.