NC and Doosan nominated Tanner Turley and Kwak Bin as their first starting pitchers for fall baseball, respectively.안전놀이터
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 18th that NC Tanner and Doosan Kwak Bin will serve as starting pitchers in the first game of the wild card decision. The first game of the wild card decision will be held at NC Park in Changwon, Gyeongnam, NC’s home stadium, at 6:30 pm on the 19th.
The starting appearances of Tanner and Kwak Bin had already been announced. NC coach Kang In-kwon had already selected Tanner as the starter for the first game because ace Eric Peddy, who recorded 20 wins and 209 strikeouts this season, appeared against KIA on the 16th and suffered a bruise.
Tanner, who joined NC as a substitute player this season, appeared in 11 games and recorded 5 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 2.92. During the regular season, they faced Doosan only once, on August 20th, and won by allowing 3 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings. Tanner, who has won both of his last two games, will take the mound in the wild card game in excellent condition.
Kwak Bin appeared in 23 games this season, recording 12 wins, 7 losses, and an average ERA of 2.90. It was his first double-digit multiplier since his debut in 2018, and his earned run average was also the lowest this season. Based on this performance, he joined the baseball team for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, but he was unable to pitch in a single game during the tournament due to complaints of back pain. However, in his last appearance in the KBO League, against KIA on the 13th, he pitched well, allowing 1 run in 6 innings, confirming Doosan’s advancement to the fall baseball season. This season, he appeared in 3 games against NC, with no wins, 1 loss, and an average ERA of 3.07.
The wild card match is advantageous in many ways to NC, which starts with ‘one win’. If NC wins or draws in the first game, they will get a ticket to the semi-playoffs. If Doosan wins the first game, the second game will be held at the same location on the 20th. Doosan must win two games in a row to continue the fall baseball season.
In a short-term game, the difference between ‘1 win’ and ‘2 wins in a row’ is heaven and earth. In fact, there has never been a case where the 5th place defeated the 4th place in the wild card match introduced in 2015 and advanced to the semi-playoffs. NC also advanced to the semi-playoffs by beating SSG in the first game in 2017, when it was 4th place, but lost its first game to LG in 2019, when it was 5th place, and ended the fall baseball season. Doosan also lost the first game to Kiwoom in 2021, when it was in fourth place, but won the second game and advanced to the semi-playoffs.
However, there are predictions that this year, Doosan will have a chance of winning if it takes the series to the second game. Doosan announced Brandon Waddell as the starter for the second game. Brandon performed well this season with 11 wins, 3 losses, and an average ERA of 2.49 in 18 games. It is expected that he will have the upper hand in the starting battle with Song Myung-gi (4 wins, 9 losses, ERA 4.83), the starter for NC’s second game.
This is the fifth time NC and Doosan have faced each other in the postseason. Doosan took the series in the 2015 playoffs, 2016 Korean Series, and 2017 playoffs, but in the 2020 Korean Series, NC defeated Doosan with 4 wins and 2 losses and achieved its first overall championship since its founding.