Austin’s home run and Son Joo-young’s save send LG to four straight wins after sweeping Doosan

LG Twins completed a sweep of their three-game Jamsil rivalry series against the Doosan Bears with a 1-0 victory, stretching their winning streak to four games.

The result left LG in third place with a 67-1-51 record. Doosan, in fifth, fell to 61-4-55 after losing three straight games.

Second-year right-hander Park Si-won provided the foundation for LG’s win. He held Doosan scoreless over five innings, allowing two hits and two walks, despite facing Bears ace Kwak Bin, who is pursuing a pitching triple crown this season. Park left after the sixth inning with LG leading 1-0 and collected the first win of his professional career.

Kwak pitched seven innings and struck out eight, allowing three hits and one run. The lone run came in the fourth inning, when Austin Dean drove a 157-kilometer-per-hour fastball over the center-field wall for his 36th home run of the season. Austin, second in the league’s home-run race, moved within three of KIA Tigers slugger Kim Do-yeong, who leads with 39.

LG’s bullpen protected the narrow lead. Lee Woo-chan, Kim Jin-su and Kim Young-woo each worked a scoreless inning before closer Son Joo-young entered in the ninth.

LG had considered using Ko Woo-suk, who had returned from the United States and rejoined the first-team roster, but he was not in good condition after arriving home on Sept. 1. Son volunteered to pitch after appearing on Sept. 1 and 2, and the training staff judged another outing safe.

Son allowed a leadoff triple in the ninth and issued a walk, putting runners at first and third with two outs. He then induced a groundout to third base to preserve the win and claim his 26th save. Doosan also missed a scoring chance in the eighth inning.