Doosan Bears beat Samsung Lions behind Wes Benjamin’s eight strikeouts, extending its lead over NC Dinos to four-and-a-half games.
Doosan Bears starting pitcher Wes Benjamin encourages his fielders as he heads to the dugout after pitching a scoreless top of the third inning against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 12. NEWS1

The Doosan Bears gained more ground in the race for a postseason spot.

No. 5-ranked Doosan beat the Samsung Lions 3-1 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday behind a strong outing from Wes Benjamin. The Bears won their second straight game and widened their lead over No. 6 NC Dinos to four-and-a-half games after NC lost 9-2 to the LG Twins in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, the same day.

With Benjamin and Lions’ Chris Paddack starting on the mound, Doosan struck first. With two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the first inning, Bears’ Yunior Severino drove in two runs with a double to center field. Samsung answered in the second when Jeon Byeong-woo hit a solo home run to center, but Doosan extended its lead to 3-1 in the fourth on Yang Suk-hwan’s solo homer to left.

Doosan failed to score again, but its pitching staff kept Samsung from closing the gap. Benjamin struck out eight while allowing one run on three hits over five innings. Takuto Takada pitched one and two-thirds scoreless innings, followed by Kim Taek-yeon with one and one-third scoreless innings and Lee Young-ha with a scoreless inning to seal the win.

At Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, the SSG Landers beat the Lotte Giants 4-1. In Daejeon, the KT Wiz and Hanwha Eagles played to a 4-4 tie.