Brandon pitches 7 innings of 8 K’s 4 wins on the season
The Doosan Bears halted the KT Wiz’s winning streak.
Doosan rode a strong pitching performance from Brandon Waddell to a 7-4 victory over KT in the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League at Jamsil Stadium on Friday.
Doosan, which dropped from third to a tie for fourth place after losing to KT the previous day, snapped a two-game losing streak to earn its 47th win of the season (1-43) and move into a tie for third place in a single day.
KT, which saw its seven-game winning streak come to a halt, dropped from third to fifth place with 48 points (2 wins, 2 draws, 44 losses).
Doosan starter Brandon Waddell pitched a solid game.
He shut down the KT bats for seven innings, allowing just four hits and one walk. He also struck out eight batters.
Brandon picked up his fourth win of the season (2-2) with his performance.
The Doosan bats were led by veterans who set the table. Leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin went 3-for-5 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored, while No. 2 hitter Kim Jae-ho went 2-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and two runs scored.
KT starter Wes Benjamin was rocked for five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings and suffered his fourth loss of the season (11 wins).
Doosan scored three runs in the first inning to take control.
In the bottom of the first, leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin and No. 2 hitter Kim Jae-ho hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning, and Jose Rojas followed with a single to right field.
A throwing error by the right fielder on Rojas’ single put runners on second and third, and a throwing error by KT third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun on Kang Seung-ho’s infield grounder allowed Rojas to score.
Doosan added a run in the bottom of the second inning when Heo Kyung-min singled to left and Jung Soo-bin tripled to right-center field.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kim Tae-geun doubled, Jang Seung-hyun sacrificed, and the opposing pitcher was hit by a pitch to score a run, and Doosan extended its lead to 7-0 with a single run in the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-ho singled to right, and Yang Seok-hwan followed with a two-run shot (his 16th of the season) over the left field fence.
KT didn’t back down easily. After struggling to hit Brandon, the KT bats came alive after the Doosan mound change.
In the top of the eighth, back-to-back singles by Song Min-seob and Ahn Chi-young put runners on first and second, and Anthony Alford followed with a double to right. With runners on second and third, Moon Sang-chul hit a sacrifice fly to give KT a run.
With the bases loaded, Hwang Jae-gyun hit a two-run arch (his third of the season) over the left field fence to cut the KT lead to 4-7.
But that was it. Two batters later, Kim Jun-tae drew a walk but was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity. Doosan’s new pitcher, Kim Myung-shin, struck out Jang Jun-won.
Doosan reliever Hong Gun-hee took over the mound in the top of the ninth and induced a triple play to close out the inning. 스포츠토토맨 Hong earned her 22nd save of the season (4-0).