The rain that fell in the Seoul metropolitan area over the Lunar New Year holiday could prove to be a positive for the Doosan Bears, most notably in terms of buying Yang Sabu time to recover.
Doosan finished the fourth week with two wins and two losses. The midweek home three-game series against the Samsung Lions was a literal feast of romantic baseball.
On May 23, Doosan sent veteran left-hander Jang Won-jun to the mound against Jamsil Samsung Electronics. Jang overcame a big inning that was marred by defensive miscues to go five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking none. The team’s bats were also on fire with 14 hits and seven runs scored to give Jang the win.
In the end, the 7-5 victory gave Jang a much-needed win after a 1,844-day wait, making him the 11th pitcher in KBO history to reach the 130-win plateau. The game also saw him reunite with Yang Ji Woo, who returned to Doosan for the first time in five years, further stoking the romantic baseball nostalgia of Doosan fans.
However, the loss to Jamsil Samsung Electronics on the 24th was painful. The team was on a roll after starting pitcher Kim Dong-joo pitched five scoreless innings, but in the top of the eighth inning, Jung Chul-won gave up five runs on two hits and two walks, resulting in a 6-1 loss. Chung’s throw to third base on a bunt play proved to be the deciding factor.
The hero of Jamsil Samsung Electronics on the 25th was veteran shortstop Kim Jae-ho, who returned to the first team. On this day, Doosan entered the extra innings with a tense flow. Despite conceding a run in the top of the 10th inning, Doosan tied the game again in the bottom of the 10th inning with a brilliant
squeeze bunt to tie the game again. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Kim Jae-ho came to the plate with the bases loaded and Hong Jeong-woo’s four-pitch, 141 km/h fastball was technically hit into left field for a grand slam.
Kim Jae-ho, who led the midweek winning series, said, “I was disappointed that my body didn’t follow my mind. I wanted to make the Doosan fans smile even if it’s just for one game after coming back to the first team. When I stepped up to bat, I thought I would hit it unconditionally and finish it off,” he said, expressing his joy at the game-winning hit and the team’s victory.
Doosan welcomed the defending champions SSG Landers home over the weekend. Doosan looked to have a 3-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning against SSG in Jamsil on the 26th, with ace Raul Alcantara leading the way. However, Alcantara faltered in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits (one home run) with two walks and seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Doosan got off to a shaky start on day one of the weekend series with a 3-14 loss.
The remainder of the weekend series was dictated by the rain that fell across the Seoul metropolitan area from the start of the Buddha Day holiday. Eventually, both the 27th and 28th games were rained out, giving Doosan time to breathe. Manager Lee Seung-yeop met with reporters in the dugout and said, “It’s up to the heavens to decide,” but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face as the rain pounded down on Jamsil Stadium.
Catcher Yang Yang-ji was ruled out of the weekend series after injuring his shin while running the bases in the midweek series. Yang’s absence was a positive for Doosan, as he is a huge part of the team’s offense, and the two rainouts gave him time to recover and plan for the future. 메이저사이트
DOOScenes from last week
Jang Won-jun and Kim Jae-ho led the way in the winning series. Jang Won-jun’s promise to “throw my ball to the center of the plate, even if it’s a home run,” came true. One of the most impressive things about Jang’s 130 wins was his no-hitter. His 130 wins were doubly impressive because he threw his pitches to opposing batters without ducking.