“Today (the 13th) is the day we tuned in to Kwak Bin. (Kwak) Bin said today was okay.”
Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop talked about the physical condition of starting pitcher Kwak Bin (24) ahead of the Jamsil KIA Tigers game on the 13th. Kwak Bin participated in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held earlier this month,메이저사이트 but returned to Korea without being able to throw a single game. While preparing to start the first match against Hong Kong in the group stage on the 1st, he suffered symptoms of phlegm on his back. Kwak Bin diligently treated himself and tried to return to the mound after the Super Round, but in the end he was unable to throw a single ball and had to pack his bags.
Korea won the gold medal thanks to the relay pitching of good-condition starting pitchers such as Park Se-woong (Lotte), Won Tae-in (Samsung), and Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha). Although Kwak Bin won the gold medal thanks to his teammates, he couldn’t smile to his heart’s content. This is why he left a short comment on his SNS after finishing the competition, saying, “I am so sorry and grateful.”
Doosan checked Bin Kwak’s physical condition as soon as he rejoined the team. Since the team was in an urgent situation to fight for rankings, it was natural that if Kwak Bin’s body was healthy, he would want to participate in more games. Kwak Bin hoped to pitch against Jamsil KIA on the 13th, and coach Lee respected the player’s wishes and decided to use him for only one more game remaining in the regular season.
Coach Lee said, “As long as Kwak Bin is good, he will continue to pitch (with no limit on innings pitched). He says he still has very slight symptoms when preparing for a game, but it doesn’t seem like he can’t pitch in a game. We have given Bin enough time to pitch.” “Today is today. Bin said today was okay, so I prepared for the game according to today,” he said, expecting a good pitch.
As of the 13th, Doosan is ranked 5th with a season record of 72 wins, 65 losses, and 2 draws. They are only 1 game behind the 3rd place SSG Landers (73 wins, 64 losses, 3 draws) and 0.5 games behind the 4th place NC Dinos (73 wins, 65 losses, 2 draws). If Kwak Bin can properly block even just one game on this day, he can gain more momentum in the battle for rankings. There is still hope to secure a direct ticket to the semi-playoffs by finishing in 3rd place, so it is important to accumulate as many wins as possible in the remaining 5 games.
Kwak Bin performed well as a domestic ace this season, recording 11 wins, 7 losses, 121⅓ innings, and an average ERA of 2.97 in 22 games. His performance against KIA this year was good, with 3 wins and 1 loss, 20⅔ innings, and an ERA of 3.48. It is important for him to continue his strong performance against KIA.
Coach Lee said, “Out of the last eight games of the regular season, we lost twice and won once yesterday (11-1 win against NC on the 12th). Every day of each game is important. Although (Park) Chi-guk and (Hong) Geon-hee threw yesterday, , (Kim) Kang-ryul, (Jeong) Cheol-won, and (Kim) Myeong-shin were also dear to me. It would be good if Bin-i pitched a lot and the batting line exploded. As long as Bin-i pitches long innings, I don’t think he is weak compared to the opposing team.” He said with strength.
On this day, Doosan had Soo-bin Jeong (center fielder), Soo-haeng Jo (right fielder), Jose Rojas (designated hitter), Eui-ji Yang (catcher), Seok-hwan Yang (first baseman), In-tae Kim (left fielder), Seung-ho Kang (second baseman), Jae-ho Kim (shortstop), and Heo. The starting lineup was set with Kyung-min (third baseman).
The biggest change is the absence of central hitter Kim Jae-hwan. Kim Jae-hwan was replaced after feeling pain in his right hand while betting against Jamsil NC on the 12th. Manager Lee explained, “I didn’t even practice batting today because my hands are still swollen. I’m on standby as a pinch hitter, but it’s difficult to be selected.” Kim In-tae takes over Kim Jae-hwan’s role.