I don’t know why I’m so good at this. “Is it because I got the director’s energy from Pohang?”
Yang Eui-ji, the home manager of the Doosan Bears, said. The person who led the team to the eight-game victory in July seems to have no idea why. Doosan won eight consecutive games from the match against the Lotte Giants in Ulsan on the 1st to the match against the Kiwoom Heroes in Jamsil on the 9th. Doosan, which remained in sixth place until June, is solidifying its sole third place by increasing its winning margin to +5 with 41 wins, 36 losses, and 1 draw in the season.
The eight-game winning streak is the record for the most consecutive wins under Lee Seung-yeop. The last Doosan’s eight consecutive wins are eight consecutive wins in 1,851 days, from the match against Gocheok Nexen (currently Kiwoom) on June 6, 2018 to the match against Daejeon Hanwha on June 14 of that year. Doosan won 10 consecutive games until the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on June 16. Ten consecutive wins are the most in the club’s history.
The flow of coach Lee’s ride in Pohang, which he used as a “land of promise” when he was with the Samsung Lions, has continued so far. Pohang is the first stadium in the KBO where coach Lee achieved 400 home runs, and Doosan set the stage for eight consecutive wins by catching all three consecutive games during the week against Samsung in Pohang from the 4th to the 6th. Winning the first and second games of the series from a come-from-behind victory was a great help to the rise. Coach Lee says he no longer has to put much meaning on Pohang because he is not a player anymore, but Pohang also presented a victory to head coach Lee Seung-yeop. This is why Yang Eui-ji said, “I received the energy of Pohang.”
This upward trend is likely to wake up Miracle Doosan, which won the grand reversal in 2019. Doosan fiercely chased the No. 1 SK Wyverns (currently SSG Landers), which was ahead by nine games that year, and finally made a miracle at the end of the season. On October 1, the 144th game, he won 6-5 against the Jamsil NC Dinos, matching the winning rate with 88 wins, 55 losses, and 1 draw with SK. At that time, according to KBO regulations, the team was ranked first with an opponent’s overall advantage, and Doosan ranked first without a game difference for the first time in KBO history thanks to a 9 wins and 7 losses lead over SK. Following that energy, he won all four games in the Korean Series against Kiwoom, the sixth and last integrated championship in the club’s history.
Doosan is currently five games away from second-place SSG (46 wins, 31 losses, 1 draw) and 7.5 games away from first-place LG Twins (49 wins, 29 losses, 2 draws). It is true that it is not an easy distance to narrow down to the point where it is said that it has already been solidified into a two-tier system. However, Doosan currently has 66 games left in the season. Looking back on the time when the gap between nine games was reversed in 2019, this year is more worth challenging for the difference in games or the number of remaining games. Coincidentally, SSG is the last three consecutive games in the first half, which will be played from the 11th to the 13th. Depending on the results of the series, it can certainly narrow or widen the distance from second place.
Of course, the coaching staff, including 토토체험머니 the coach, and the composition of the team are very different from then. Compared to 2019, it is true that there are young and variable players. Still, Kim Jae-ho, Yang Eui-ji, Kim Jae-hwan, Huh Kyung-min, Jung Soo-bin, Kim Kang-ryul, Lee Young-ha, Park Chi-guk, and Kim Myung-shin, who led the Korean Series for seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021, are still holding out.
Yang Eui-ji returned from a 4+2-year, 15.2 billion won FA contract with his former Doosan this year and said, “My mission is to become a strong team again,” which is a strong support by firmly maintaining his center as a homeowner and No. 4 hitter.
Yang Eui-ji said, “I think the atmosphere is a little brighter because I won. “I think I can finish the first half well by winning all the games before the All-Star break, and I think I can start the second half in a good mood,” he said, adding, “I think I can focus on the remaining three games in the first half and finish in the top five.”
Doosan’s pitching and hitting balance in July is unprecedented. The team’s ERA is 1.85 overwhelmingly first. Raul Alcantara, Brandon Waddell, Kwak Bin, Choi Won-joon and Kim Dong-joo are running solidly, and the bullpen never gives points. In July, the bullpen ERA reached 0.90. Kim Myung-shin took one win and four holds, taking charge of eight scoreless innings in six games, and there are no holes in anyone, including Hong Gun-hee, Jung Chul-won, Lee Young-ha, Park Chi-guk, Choi Seung-yong, and Kim Kang-ryul.
It is most encouraging that the blow has survived evenly. He is in second place with a team batting average of 0.302 and seven home runs in July. Among the main pillars, veteran Yang Eui-ji swung a hard blow with a batting average of 0.478 and Kim Jae-ho with a batting average of 0.438. Another positive factor is that foreign batter Jose Rojas, who has been troubled throughout the season, is hitting 0.375 in July. Kang Seung-ho (0.314), Jang Seung-hyun (0.313), and Huh Kyung-min (0.308) also maintain a good batting sense.
Park Joon-young, a compensation player for Park Se-hyuk, who moved to NC for FA ahead of this season, is also contributing to the upward trend. Park Joon-young was called up to the first division for the first time on the 7th and swung four hits, one home run, and three RBIs in three games. With a stable third base defense, coach Lee is definitely drawing attention.
Coach Lee gave all the credit to the players for now. He said, “They are originally capable players. I just want to think that the potential for the players to come out came out a little late. “I’ve been waiting for a long time, but it’s the result of the players not giving up and preparing well,” he stressed.
He stressed that there is no need to be happy with eight consecutive wins right away or frustrated that one day the winning streak has been cut off. I believed that if I accumulated one win at a time, I would be able to laugh together at the end of the season.
Coach Lee said, “There are many more difficult times ahead. “I believe that if you don’t get excited, don’t be conceited, and play as you prepared, you will get better results,” he said, expecting to face the All-Star break with a smile until the end of the first half.