Kwak-Bin loses despite 108 pitches
The Doosan Bears experienced another bout of ‘twin phobia’ last year. In the first Jamsil rivalry game of the season against the LG Twins, the Bears suffered a bitter upset despite Kwak Bin’s 108-pitch shutout.
On April 12, Doosan lost to LG 1-2 in Jamsil. The previous day, Doosan lost 0-3 to the Hanwha Eagles in Jamsil, dropping them to 7-11 on the season and eighth place in the league.
Doosan was 5-11 against LG last year. If Doosan is to climb higher this season, it will need to regain its dominance in the Jamsil rivalry.
“Compared to other clubs, LG shares the same ballpark in Seoul, so the fans are very engaged and interested in the game, so we always want to beat them,” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yup told the press before the game. Last year, we had a lot of losing series, but we want to change the atmosphere this season, and the first game of a three-game series is very important. With a good result today, we will try our best to play a different opponent than last year.”
Lee emphasized the importance of defense. “We made some mistakes in the infield, but it’s early in the season, so I think it will get better. LG plays fast baseball, so when we get rushed in that area, we seem to make more mistakes. If we stay calm and get one out, we won’t have any problems, but the other team has many fast players. If we stay relaxed and do what we practiced before the opener, we will have a good result.”
The game was a pitching battle between Doosan’s Kwak-Bin Kwak and LG’s Kelly. Doosan scored the first run in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice bunt by Jeong Soo-bin with the bases loaded.
Kwak continued to pitch a scoreless sixth inning and looked to be on track for his first win of the season. In the top of the seventh inning, Kwak threw 108 pitches before handing the ball over to Lee Byung-heon with runners on first and second. However, the game quickly 토토 turned around when Lee gave up a tying single to Moon Sung-joo and then a walk to pinch-hitter Koo Bon-hyuk. Kwak-Bin’s first win of the season was gone in an instant.
Doosan was able to hold on for the win, but the team’s bats finally succumbed to the late-game collapse.
Doosan will send Lee Young-ha and Kim Dong-joo to the mound for Games 13 and 14, respectively. With four or five starters on the mound, the outcome of the first game of the weekend series was crucial, as Lee said. However, the team suffered a shocking upset in the first game of the weekend series amidst a bitter bullpen fire and a silent batting lineup. From the start of this season’s Jamsil rivalry, the team has been worried about losing a series sweep.