"No Team at Opening Day"…Doosan Bears vs. Samsung Lions 12-0, Benjamin Gets 9th Win

Doosan beat Samsung 12-0 in Daegu on Oct. 4. Wes Benjamin, who joined on a 6-week, $50,000 replacement contract, threw 6 scoreless innings to pick up his 9th win of the season.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

A pitcher who began on a 6-week, $50,000 contract has reached 9 wins this season. Doosan Bears left-hander Wes Benjamin (33) has an ERA this season of 2.31. That is 1.43 lower than his 3.74 career mark over 3 seasons with KT. The replacement player has now become the winningest foreign pitcher on Doosan.

Doosan Bears vs. Samsung Lions 12-0, Benjamin Scoreless Over 6 Innings

Yonhap News reported that Doosan beat Samsung 12-0 in Daegu on Oct. 4. According to the KBO game log, Benjamin allowed no runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts over 6 innings. Sports Kyunghyang reported that Doosan's lineup collected 20 hits and 4 home runs. Benjamin improved to 9-7(as of 17:00 on 2026.10.04) and extended his winning streak as a starter to 5 games.

OSEN reported that manager Kim Won-hyung, after the game on the 4th, praised Benjamin, saying, "He shut them down perfectly over 6 innings." Catcher Yang Eui-ji also said that day, "We were able to win thanks to Benjamin's perfect pitching." Benjamin said, "When the season opened, I didn't even have a team," and expressed his gratitude to the club. In the same game, Jung Su-bin (35) passed Kim Dong-ju (1710 hits) with 1711 career hits to set the Bears franchise record for most hits.

Benjamin's Contract: $50,000 → $450,000, From Replacement Player to Regular Deal

On April 6, Doosan signed Benjamin to a 6-week contract worth $50,000 in total as an injury replacement for Flexen. According to Newspim, the deal was extended by 6 weeks, from May 20 to July 1, at the same $50,000. On July 2, a regular contract worth $450,000 in total was announced (Sports Seoul). Simply adding up the three contracts comes to $550,000. That is about 39% of the $1.4 million total on his 2024 season contract with KT.

He was born on July 26, 1993, in Winfield, Illinois, in the United States. He was drafted by Texas in the 5th round in 2014. He debuted in the MLB in 2020, but his career record is 2 wins and 3 losses with a 6.80 ERA. He joined KT in 2022 and piled up 31 wins over 3 seasons. After posting a 6.42 ERA with Triple-A El Paso in 2025, he was released in November.

Season	Team	W-L	ERA
2022	KT	5-4	2.70
2023	KT	15-6	3.54
2024	KT	11-8	4.63
2025	Triple-A El Paso	4-8	6.42
2026	Doosan	9-7	2.31

Benjamin's 9 Wins Tie for 6th Among Foreign Pitchers

We re-tallied only the foreign pitchers from the official KBO win records (as of 2026.10.05, excluding Asia Quota players). Tied for 1st with 12 wins are LG's Tolhurst and KIA's Nail. Benjamin, with 9 wins, is tied for 6th. Including Asia Quota player Wang Yencheng (11 wins), he drops to a tie for 7th. In the overall KBO win rankings that include domestic players, he is tied for 13th.

Rank	Player	Team	Wins
T-1	Tolhurst	LG	12
T-1	Nail	KIA	12
3	Oller	KIA	11
T-4	Rodriguez	Lotte	10
T-4	Beasley	Lotte	10
T-6	Avila	SSG	9
T-6	Hurado	Samsung	9
T-6	Benjamin	Doosan	9
T-6	Alcantara	Kiwoom	9
T-10	Riley	NC	8
T-10	Jack Log	Doosan	8

The 6-week replacement player ranks 3rd in wins within Doosan and has the most wins among the team's foreign pitchers. Choi Min-seok has 14 wins and Kwak Bin has 11, followed by Benjamin with 9, and Jack Log comes next with 8.

Doosan Bears in 5th Place, 2 Games Behind 4th-Place LG

In the KBO daily team standings, Doosan is in 5th place at 72 wins, 5 ties and 64 losses, with a win percentage of 0.529 (as of 2026.10.05, reflecting games through the 5th). It trails 4th-place LG (75 wins, 1 tie, 63 losses) by 2 games. 6th-place SSG, at 63 wins, 5 ties and 72 losses, is 8.5 games behind Doosan.

According to OSEN, after the game on the 4th, Benjamin said he would prepare even more firmly with postseason variables in mind. Simply adding his 31 wins from his time at KT to this year's 9 gives 40 career KBO wins. If he reaches 10 wins, it would be his third double-digit win season, following 2023 and 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What was the result of the Doosan Bears vs. Samsung Lions game?

Doosan won 12-0 in Daegu on Oct. 4, 2026. The winning pitcher was Benjamin, who threw 6 scoreless innings, and Doosan's lineup collected 20 hits and 4 home runs.

Q. How old is Benjamin?

He was born on July 26, 1993, which makes him 33 years old as of Oct. 5, 2026. Some reports list him as 34, but by his official date of birth he is 33.

Q. What is Benjamin's salary?

The regular contract Doosan announced on July 2 is worth $450,000 in total. The $50,000 shown in the KBO player information is the amount of the initial 6-week replacement contract, so it cannot be regarded as his pay for the full season. How it is split between base salary and options has not been confirmed.

Related Official Sites

KBO Official Website — Check game schedules and results
KBO Official Player Record for Benjamin — Season and game-by-game pitching records
KBO Official Team Standings — Doosan's daily rankings and games behind
Official MLB Player Page for Benjamin — Records from his Major League days

Featured image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the current game in the article · Photo composite · Photo=Wikimedia Commons (Raelene Gutierrez), CC BY 2.0 · Photo=Wikimedia Commons (Neoalpha), CC0