Discussions
Two consecutive winning series despite injuries to foreign one-two punch
Baseball's Doosan Bears overcame the injury absence of their foreign one-two punch to pull off a valuable second consecutive winning series.
The Doosan Bears won the fifth game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the NC Dinos 7-3 on Friday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Doosan avenged the previous day's loss with a sweep of the three-game midweek series. It was their second consecutive sweep, following a three-game series against Jamsil Kiwoom last weekend. Doosan is 13-16 on the season.
With ace Raul Alcantara and No. 2 starter Brandon Waddell both out with injuries, "Sore Finger" Won-jun Choi rebounded. The right-hander tossed 6⅔ innings of two-hit, two-run ball, striking out five and walking one to earn his second win of the season. It was his first quality start in 209 days since Sept. 29 against LG Electronics last year. He was followed by Kim Myung-shin, Park Chi-guk, and Hong Gun-hee.
At the plate, Yang Seok-hwan and Henry Ramos had back-to-back multi-hit games and combined for seven RBIs. Ramos was responsible for four of the hits, including a two-run home run.
After the game, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "Starting pitcher Choi Won-joon pitched a stellar game. He did his job perfectly, minimizing both hits and walks. We expect more good performances like today's," said Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop. "Park Chi-guk also played a big role in minimizing the damage in the eighth inning."
As for the batting lineup, "Captain Yang Seok-hwan took advantage of a big opportunity in the first inning to turn the tide in our favor. Ramos also came through with valuable hits and home runs at key times," he said.
As usual, he also thanked the home fans. "Despite the fact that it was a weekday and the weather was chilly, many fans came out to heat up the ballpark, and I think the power of their cheers led to the winning series. We will always be grateful to them."
Doosan will play a three-game weekend series against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 26th. On the first day, Kim Yoo-seong (Doosan) and Hwang Jun-seo (Hanwha) will start the game. It will be Kim's first career start.