The Doosan Bears will try to make history at home.
Doosan will play a three-game midweek series against the Lotte Giants at their home stadium, Jamsil, starting on May 25.
The most anticipated game is the first day of the series. If Doosan wins that day, it will make history by winning 11 straight games for the first time in franchise history.
Doosan’s offense hasn’t garnered much attention before opening day. At the opening media day, none of the managers mentioned Doosan as a team to watch in fall baseball. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop, who was shunned by everyone, said with a bitter smile, “Thank you for the cold assessment.”
It was at the end of the first half that Doosan caught everyone’s attention as they seemed to be in the midst of a mid-table battle. Pajuk ended the first half on a nine-game winning streak and quickly moved up to third place, chasing the “top two” LG Twins and SSG Landers.
Even the week-long All-Star break couldn’t stop Doosan’s run. In the first game of the second half, Doosan completed a 10-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory over the Gwangju KIA Tigers on April 21.
The 10-game winning streak is tied for the most in franchise history. Doosan previously won 10 straight games against the Hyundai Unicorns on June 16, 2000, against Hyundai on June 27, and against the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom) on June 6, 2018, against the Hanwha Eagles on June 16.
Now, they’re going for the first 11-game winning streak in franchise history.
It’s a significant challenge for ‘novice’ head coach Lee Seung-yeop. Lee won nine straight games in his first year as the Bears’ manager, surpassing Kim Young-duk in 1982 and Kim Sung-geun in 1984.
An 11-game winning streak would tie Jerry Royster’s record for most wins in his first season as manager of the Lotte Giants in 2008.
During the winning streak, Doosan has shown off its pitching harmony with a team ERA of 1.78 (1st) and a team batting average of 0.290 (1st). They have also been able to come from behind to win five of their 10 games.
It’s a tough matchup for the slumping Lotte.
After struggling to sustain their April and May surges, Lotte has gone just 3-8 in July, ranking 10th in winning percentage (.273). Even the first three games of the second half against the Kiwoom Heroes on July 21-23 failed to change the mood, as they went 1-2. They remain in fifth place (39 wins and 41 losses), but their 5 percent winning percentage has collapsed.
Much of this has to do with the quick adjustment of substitute foreign batsman Niko Goodrum, who was introduced at the start of the second half. Goodrum is batting just .091 (1-for-11) in three games since making his debut.
Top-ranked LG (49-2, 31-1) begins the week with a three-game series against the sixth-place KT Wiz (39-2, 42-1), who are looking to rebound.
After recording their 49th win of the season against Lotte on Aug. 8, LG has since lost three straight to fall short of the 50-win mark. With second-place SSG (47W1D32L) within 1.5 games of them, it’s urgent to end the losing streak. 메이저놀이터
After the three-game series against KT, LG will host Doosan in a ‘Jamsil rivalry’ matchup on the 28th. The outcome of the weekend’s three-game series could make a big difference in the 5.5-game gap between first-place LG and third-place Doosan.
LG leads Doosan in the head-to-head series with a 5-2 record.