Doosan, undefeated first place in exhibition games, exciting “Keep it like this until fall”

The club's first undefeated record with 8 wins and 1 draw. Expectations for a big performance by monster rookie Kim Taek-yeon. Manager Seung-yeop Lee: "Thanks to thorough preparation."Hanwha, with the return of Ryu Hyun-jin, rose to 3rd place.

Doosan finished the professional baseball exhibition game in first place, recording 8 wins and 1 draw. Although they failed to achieve all wins in exhibition games, they left the record of being undefeated in exhibition games for the third time in history and entered the regular season, which opens on the 23rd.

Doosan drew 7-7 in the last exhibition game against Hanwha on the 19th. Doosan, which had won all eight games until the previous day, was ahead 7-4 until the top of the 7th inning, but the bullpen gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, ending the game in a tie. Doosan recorded 8 wins and 1 draw in 9 games, excluding the match against Lotte on the 12th, where no game was declared due to rain.

This is the first time in 10 years since 2014 (4 wins, 2 losses, 5 draws, winning percentage 0.667) that Doosan finished the exhibition game in first place, and for the 6th time in total (1984, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2014, 2024). Doosan is the third team to have an undefeated record in exhibition games this year, following Lotte (5 wins, 1 draw) in 1995 and Hanwha (5 wins) in 1999.

‘No. 1 in exhibition games’ is not a guarantee that will lead to good results in the regular season. Demonstration games were first introduced in 1983, the year after the launch of professional baseball, and so far, the team ranked first in the demonstration games has reached the top of the Korean Series seven times (Haitai in 1987, Lotte in 1992, Haitai in 1993, Hyundai in 1998, Hanwha in 1999, 2002). Samsung in 2007 and SK in 2007). Hanwha and Samsung, which took first and second place in the exhibition games last year, only ranked 9th and 8th, respectively, in the regular season.

Still, the Doosan team’s atmosphere is more hopeful than ever. Yang Eui-ji, the starting catcher who led the victory by hitting two home runs against Hanwha on the 18th, said, “If you don’t do well in the exhibition game, you go into the season anxious, but if your performance is good, you can feel more comfortable heading into the opening game. “We just have to keep doing well like we are now,” he said.

Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop also said after completing all exhibition games on the 19th, “Because it was an exhibition game, we tried to play the game without worrying about winning or losing. “Nevertheless, the reason the club set an undefeated record for the first time is because all of the players prepared thoroughly,” he said. “I hope that all of the players will continue the good trend in the regular season based on their current confidence.”

Doosan showed stable power in both two-strokes in the exhibition game. ‘One-two punch’ Raul Alcantara, Brandon Waddell, Kwak Bin, Choi Won-jun, and Kim Dong-ju filled the five-man starting rotation. Kwak Bin, who has grown into a pitcher for the national team, also started a practice game against the Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major League Baseball (MLB) on the 18th, throwing fastballs up to 155 km per hour and allowing one run in two innings. In the bullpen is ‘monster rookie’ Kim Taek-yeon (19). Right-handed pitcher Kim Taek-yeon, who joined Doosan with the second overall pick in the first round, struck out Teoscar Hernández and James Outman in the game against the Dodgers on the 18th. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the ball, saying, “I think the speed was about 91 miles per hour (about 146 km), but in reality, it would have been 96 miles per hour (about 154 km).” In the batting lineup, center hitter Kim Jae-hwan has made a comeback. Kim Jae-hwan, who had a poor batting average of 0.220 and 10 home runs last year, recorded a batting average of 0.444 (8 hits in 18 at-bats), 1 home run, and 6 RBI in the exhibition game. Hanwha, where Ryu Hyun-jin, who played in MLB until last year, returned after 12 years, finished the exhibition game in third place (5 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses). Ryu Hyun-jin made two starts in exhibition games, recording two wins and an earned run average of 3.00, heralding his regular season performance. 스포츠토토