With club in thick of postseason race, Bears manager takes it game by game

Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yuop watches his team in action against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, Aug. 1. Yonhap With his club in the thick of a Korean baseball postseason race and a key series against their biggest rival on the horizon, Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yuop said Thursday he is not looking past the game at hand.

The Bears will host the Kia Tigers on Thursday evening at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The Tigers, at 83-52-2 (wins-losses-ties) clinched the best record in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season Tuesday, while the Bears, with a record of 68-66-2, are in fourth place, one game ahead of the KT Wiz, who are clinging to the fifth and final postseason spot. On a three-game winning streak, the Bears are also closing in on the LG Twins for third place.



The two Seoul rivals, who share Jamsil as their home, are scheduled to play a crucial three-game series starting Friday. "Rather than thinking about tomorrow, we'll try to focus on today's game," Lee said in his pregame media availability Thursday. "We have eight games remaining, and our mindset will be to try to win every day.

" The Bears have gone 6-7 against the Twins this season and will have two of their top starters lined up, with Gwak Been and Jordan Balazovic. The Twins will likely counter with their own aces, with Dietrich Enns and Elieser Hernandez scheduled to appear during the series. "It's supposed to start getting a bit cooler this weekend, and that should help everyone play better," Lee said, referring to record-breaking heat in September.

"From veterans down to young guys, everyone here is really driven to win. I expect to see a good series against the Twins, but we first have to take care of business today." Unlike the Bears, the Tigers have little at stake the rest of the regular season, other than to keep their players healthy.

But Lee insisted the Tigers' position will have no bearing on how his own team will approach the game. "No matter who we play, we want to follow our game plan," Lee said. "We're going to assume that they will have all of their best players in the lineup, and we'll battle accordingly.

" (Yonhap).