adminThey were poised to win the championship, but now things have turned around.
Doosan created a new franchise record with an 8-5 win over Lotte in Jamsil on March 25, extending its winning streak to 11 games. Doosan, which has made a splash under “rookie” manager Lee Seung-yup, not only maintained its sole possession of third place with 44 wins, 36 losses, and one draw, but also threatened the leaders with a three-game lead over second-place SSG and a 4.5-game lead over first-place LG.
During their 11-game winning streak, Doosan boasted a team ERA of 1.98 and a team batting average of .290, giving them tremendous pitching balance. The pitching staff was anchored by Brandon Waddell, and the batting lineup was filled with veterans like Yang Ji, Heo Kyung-min, Jeong Soo-bin, and Kim Jae-ho, with foreign-born Jose Rojas showing signs of life, so the future looked rosy.
However, Doosan’s 11-game winning streak came to a screeching halt. Doosan, which has been particularly weak against LG this year, fell into a shocking five-game losing streak, including a three-game sweep, and a four-game losing streak with back-to-back losses to KT on the 15th and 16th of this month, and is now facing a situation where even maintaining a 5 percent winning percentage is in jeopardy. With a 5-13 record after an 11-game winning streak, Doosan has now slipped to fifth place with 49 points and one draw, trailing sixth-place KIA by 0.5 games and seventh-place Lotte by one game, making a postseason berth far from assured.
“The players are doing their best,” Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop said ahead of the game against KT at Jamsil Stadium on Saturday. The bench was not enough,” he said. Doosan suffered a 0-1 loss against KT in Jamsil on Friday, despite a seven-inning no-hitter from “ace” Raul Alcantara. “Alcantara hasn’t won in four games in a row,” said manager Lee Seung-yeop, “and it’s a shame that the bats didn’t come through when the ace pitches.”
The loss of Yang-ji to a side injury has been a major factor in Doosan’s recent struggles. Backup catcher Jang Seung-hyun has been stepping up to the plate, but with a .198 batting average, it’s hard to get excited about the offense.
Manager Lee Seung-yeop said of Yang’s absence, “It can’t be helped. He’s out with an injury, so there’s nothing we can do about it,” Lee said, adding, “If Jang Seung-hyun shows good defense, I’m satisfied with that. I think the offense is a bonus. If we think about the offense, Park Yoo-yeon should go out, but the catcher is the most important position, so Jang Seung-hyun’s importance will continue to grow.” 메이저사이트
On the day of the game, Lee took a gamble by batting five left-handed hitters in the top five of the batting order, given that KT was starting right-handed sidearm Uhm Sang-baek, but the result was a 2-5 loss. “Manager Lee Seung-yeop’s hope that the batting lineup would be stronger did not materialize. In addition to Yang’s absence, the Doosan bats have been unable to make a breakthrough, with Kim Jae-hwan batting .119 and Kang Seung-ho batting .121 in August. Doosan is now in a position where they can’t even defend their 5% winning percentage. Let’s see how Doosan manages to overcome their current difficulties.