On the 6th at Sajik Stadium in Busan, ahead of the third match of the season against the Lotte Giants.

Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop stepped up to the mound to throw batting practice balls to assist the hitters before the game. He checked the hitters' timing while tossing the batting balls.

After coming down from the mound and facing the press, manager Lee Seung-yeop noted, “I threw for the first time this year. I haven't been sweating too much during this time” and explained, “We are short on left-handed batting practice pitchers.”

It can be viewed that he went against Lotte's starting left-handed foreign pitcher Tucker Davidson that day, but manager Lee Seung-yeop did not attach much significance to it.

In the game on the 4th, they scored 15 runs, but on the following day, the 5th, they only managed 1 run. The hitting performance has been a rollercoaster, but they are relying on the high points when it was good. They want to focus on the positive aspects. Kang Seung-ho, who had previously gone silent with 13 at-bats and no hits, broke the silence with a 1-RBI double in his last at-bat in the 9th inning of the game on the 5th.

Manager Lee Seung-yeop remarked, “I’m still relieved. I think the hit in the last at-bat will have a good impact. There's a difference between not hitting at all and getting at least one hit in the last at-bat. Even if it’s not a good night’s sleep, the fatigue should have eased.”

Yang Seok-hwan, who also had multi-hits the previous day, added, “It seems my hitting feeling is coming back,” and noted, “I heard there was a muscle strain at the end of the game, but it won’t affect the game today. They said it’s okay.”

The batting order that day was structured to face the opposing left-handed Davidson with Lee Yoo-chan (left fielder), Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kang Seung-ho (third baseman), Kim Ki-yeon (catcher), Choo Jae-hyun (right fielder), Park Jun-young (shortstop), and Park Gye-beom (second baseman). Yang Eui-ji was resting as a catcher that day.

The starting pitcher is Kim Yoo-sung. It’s important for Kim Yoo-sung to throw long innings, but the bullpen is also preparing for a full mobilization. The manager stated, “Is there anything to look behind? Tomorrow is a rest day, and Lee Young-ha and Kim Taek-yeon are also resting. I believe the bullpen has strength. I think the fatigue level isn’t high,” adding, “It would be nice if Kim Yoo-sung throws a lot of innings and holds up, but since condition changes day by day, we plan to prepare quickly if any problems arise. However, I hope such unfortunate incidents don’t happen.”

Doosan is currently experiencing a bad jinx related to Sundays. They are on a 17-game losing streak on Sundays, continuing the worst losing streak record in the KBO on a specific day. Manager Lee Seung-yeop explained, “The players don’t seem to be too concerned. Since it’s the day before a rest day, it would be nice to win. The players don’t seem to be shaken up.”

While the players are not shaken and the manager is not concerned, it is an important game for Doosan to break the Sunday jinx.

[OSEN]