, I will present the team’s most consecutive wins.” “It’s our home, so it’s an advantage.”
Doosan Bears and KIA Tigers players showed high expectations for their first confrontation in the second half. Doosan and KIA will play the first three matches of the second half in Gwangju from the 21st. Miraculously, Doosan finished the first half undefeated in July with 9 consecutive wins, and KIA ranked second with a win rate of 0.778 with 7 wins and 2 losses in July. When the two teams with the best momentum come together in July, it raises questions about what the results will be.
Doosan and KIA players enjoyed the All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan for two days on the 14th and 15th, but did not hide their expectations for the first three games in the second half. Yang Eui-ji, the Doosan homemaker, said, “The first series in the second half is KIA, and the momentum is just as good as us. I think we should prepare well during the All-Star break.” Our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd starters all stick together, and if we win, the atmosphere will rise, and if we lose, the atmosphere will change.”
◆ “Coach Lee Seung-yeop, I’ll give you the team’s most consecutive winning streak”
Doosan is the scariest team in the recent KBO league. From 2015 to 2021, as a team that achieved the great goal of entering the Korean Series for the first time in the KBO for 7 consecutive years, it is unstoppable to ride the flow once. Until June, the season record was 33 wins, 36 losses and 1 draw, and it fell to 6th place. In July, only 9 wins were added, and the season record of 42 wins, 36 losses and 1 draw was reached and climbed to 3rd place.
Yang Eui-ji, when asked about the secret to his winning streak, said, “Confidence. When the results are bad after a game, it’s a question mark, ‘Can I do well?’, but these days, when I go out, everyone seems to play with confidence. (Chang) Seung-Hyun did a good job. I was able to win thanks to the better bat and better defense.”
Doosan players were intoxicated with the taste of winning to the extent that the All-Star break was savage. Yang Eui-ji said regretfully, “I’m worried that the atmosphere will stop because the streak is cut off. It’s not bad to go in a good flow.”
Doosan outfielder Jeong Su-bin showed confidence that he could continue the atmosphere with KIA until the first series in the second half. He shouted, “I will give the coach the most consecutive wins in the history of the club.” The longest winning streak in Doosan’s history is 10 consecutive wins, from Gocheok Nexen match on June 6, 2018 under coach Taehyung Kim to Hanhwa match in Daejeon on June 16, and Suwon Hyundai match on June 16, 2000 under manager Kim In-shik to Jamsil Hyundai match on June 27. it’s turn 2
Sue-Bin Sue said, “After 9 consecutive wins, the first half is over. 10 consecutive wins is the most, but I want to present the team’s most consecutive wins with 10 consecutive wins and 11 consecutive wins as a gift to coach Lee Seung-yeop.”
Doosan is expected to send out the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd starters in order unless there is an injury variable. The stability of the three players, Raul Alcantara, Brandon Waddell, and Kwak Bin, is top-notch in the league. Pil Seung-jo, who had no time to rest during the streak, also took a break, including Kim Myung-shin, Jeong Cheol-won, Hong Geon-hee, and Park Chi-guk. There are also plenty of things to see, including the performance of infielder Park Joon-young, who fired the signal of the ‘reward player myth’ at the end of the first half.
◆ “We have an advantage because it is our home”
KIA is a successful case of reversing the atmosphere by changing the composition of the team with the start of July. Foreign one-two punch Adonis Medina and Sean Anderson, who showed no sign of a rebound, were released at once, and right-hander Mario Sanchez and left-hander Thomas Panoni were recruited to form a new one-two punch combination. He also succeeded in reinforcing his home by carrying out a trade for catcher Kim Tae-gun while risking the blood loss of infielder Ryu Ji-hyeok to the Samsung Lions.
KIA finished the first half with a season record of 36 wins, 39 losses, 1 draw and 6th place. It is only 1 game away from 5th place Lotte Giants and 2 games away from 4th place NC Dinos. It is more important than anything else to get the start in the first three consecutive matches against Doosan in the second half in order to get the mood with entering the round of 5.
Yang Hyeon-jong pointed out the changed team atmosphere, emphasizing the importance of the first series in the second half. He said, “I feel a lot of change in the team. A lot of new players have come, and they want to have a good influence on the team, so the existing players have to cheer up. I am grateful that the new players work hard for the team. (Kim) Tae-goon, Panoni, and Sanchez are also working hard to adapt to the team. In the second half, when the team becomes one, good results will come out.”안전놀이터
He emphasized that it is important to build up one win at a time in order to continue the fight in the round of 5. Yang Hyeon-jong said, “One game, one game is a war. It is burdensome to accumulate our victories instead of watching other teams win. I think we just need to think about our team winning. How many games our team wins depends on how many games we win.” It seems to be important,” he said.
KIA is likely to build a starting lineup with Sanchez, Panoni, and Yang Hyeon-jong against Doosan. Yang Hyeon-jong, along with two foreign pitchers, took on the important role of leading the rebound in the second half. He expected to gain the series advantage, saying, “We have an advantage because we are home.”
In the first half of 16 games, Yang Hyeon-jong only had 5 wins and 5 losses, 90⅓ innings, and an average ERA of 3.79, leaving himself with regret. He said, “In the first half, I scored less than 50 points. The innings were not enough, and when I went out, the team performance was bad, so I can’t give a big score. I reflected on the first half.” promised