The SK Wyverns defeated the Doosan Bears 6-1 to avoid getting swept in their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season series on Thursday.

In his first career start, SK right-hander Lee Geun-wook tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball, while slumping slugger Choi Jeong broke through with two doubles and three RBIs.

The Wyverns remain in last place in the 10-team KBO with a 4-16 mark. The Bears fell to 12-8.  

SK's No. 8 hitter Lee Hong-ku put his team on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the second inning. He took Doosan starter Lee Yong-chan over the left field for his first home run in 999 days.

Choi's two-run double in the top fifth made it 3-0 Wyverns, and that was more than enough cushion for Lee.

The 25-year-old was perfect through 4 2/3 innings, before Kim Jae-ho broke both the perfect game and no hitter with a double to right-center. Lee walked the next batter before retiring Heo Kyoung-min on a flyout to right.

The Bears finally solved Lee in the bottom sixth, as Jung Soo-bin's one-out triple was followed by Jose Miguel Fernandez's RBI single. But Choi Joo-hwan killed what little momentum the Bears had, as he grounded into an inning-ending, 4-3 double play.

Choi Jeong came through once again in the top seventh, greeting new pitcher Lee Hyeong-beom with a double to left that cashed in two more runs. Then with two outs and the bases loaded later in the seventh, Jung Eui-yoon blew the game open with a two-run single for a 6-1 Wyverns lead.

Lee Geun-wook, who had made a grand total of five appearances in three seasons coming into Thursday, was pulled after 73 pitches, 45 of them for strikes. He held the Bears to three hits.

After Lee, three Wyverns relievers slammed the door shut on the Bears.

Choi Jeong, an All-Star slugger mired in a horrendous funk, went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored. He entered the game batting .153, 61st and last among all qualified hitters in the KBO. With two doubles on Thursday, he matched his previous total for this season. (Yonhap)