The Doosan Bears are looking to rebound by stabilizing their starting rotation.
Doosan recently filled a spot for a foreign pitcher that has been an issue throughout the first half of the season. They released Dylan Pyle, who has been plagued by injuries and poor performance, and reacquired Brandon Waddell, who played last season.
Brandon made an impressive comeback on the 24th, pitching 6 innings against the Gochukkium Heroes, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. Although his team lost (2-4) and he was the losing pitcher, Brandon did his job. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “He pitched six innings with two runs. Regardless of the outcome, his velocity, changeup, fastball ratio, and control were all good. I’m looking forward to his next start.”토토사이트
With Brandon’s addition, Doosan now has its strongest starting rotation since the start of the season. The manager is also doing the math. Raul Alcantara, Brandon, and Korean pitchers Kwak Bin and Choi Won-jun are now the four regular starters. “We will rotate until the end of the season,” Lee said.
The fifth spot is a competitive system. Rookie pitchers Choi Seung-yong and Kim Dong-joo, who showed promise early in the season, and veteran left-hander Jang Won-jun, who has been struggling, will continue to get opportunities.
For now, Jang Won-jun is the fifth starter. He will start against the Jamsil NC Dinos on April 28.
Choi Seung-yong will return to the bullpen from this week’s schedule. Lee Young-ha has been faltering lately. Choi Seung-yong will support him.
Kim Dong-ju, who is currently in the second team due to a sore back, will pitch one game in the Futures League to check his health before joining the first team.
Coach Lee Seung-yup said, “We didn’t have any starting pitchers, so we kept using substitutes. We need to have a solid starting lineup so that the pitchers are less confused.”
Doosan has done well despite having only one foreign pitcher (Dillon) for two games. They had 32 wins, one tie, and 34 losses in 67 games through last week, good for fifth place in the league. Stabilizing the starting lineup and strengthening the bullpen will help them climb higher.