A support unit ready to relieve the burden of the bullpen's winning group has completed preparations for return. The Doosan Bears bullpen is on the verge of being complete.
Doosan lost players who were supposed to be part of the winning group as the season opened this year. Last year, Lee Byung-hun, a left-handed member of the winning group who recorded 6 wins, 1 loss, 1 save, and 22 holds with an earned run average of 2.89 over 77 games, was removed from the first-team roster on the 24th of last month due to gastroenteritis after appearing in 2 games in the opening series. Choi Ji-kang, who emerged as a key part of the right-handed winning group last year with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, 1 save, and 15 holds with an earned run average of 3.24 over 55 games, recovered from shoulder pain but had a delayed return due to conjunctivitis right before the opening.
For now, Lee Byung-hun was registered on the first-team roster before the game against Doosan on the 4th and safely completed his return match on the 5th against Lotte with 1 inning, 1 hit, and no earned runs.
Now, Choi Ji-kang has also completed preparations for return. He was recovering from a shoulder injury and was ramping up his pitching pace, but had a setback due to conjunctivitis. However, he recorded 1⅓ innings with 1 strikeout and no earned runs after appearing against SSG in the Futures League on the 4th. He threw 16 pitches, reaching a top speed of 148 km/h. With 2 outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the 6th inning, Choi Ji-kang, who appeared in the situation, handled Choi Min-chang with a ground ball to the second baseman to end the inning. He then retired Choi Yun-seok with a fly ball to the second baseman, struck out Hong Dae-in, and forced Park Jeong-bin into a ground out to the second baseman, successfully finishing his return appearance.
Initially, Choi Ji-kang planned to pitch in consecutive games from the 4th to the 5th, but the game was canceled due to rain, disrupting the plan. However, the return schedule will proceed as planned. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop noted before the game against Lotte on the 5th, "Choi Ji-kang will pitch in the Futures League tomorrow (the 6th) since today's (the 5th) game was canceled. After he pitches, if he wakes up in the morning with no pain and no major issues, he will make another regular appearance on the 6th," and added, "If everything goes well, he is expected to be registered next Tuesday (the 8th)."
Reports indicated that Choi Ji-kang's unique two-seam movement is also unaffected. Manager Lee Seung-yeop mentioned, "Both velocity and movement have come out well. It seems that he is fully utilizing the advantages of movement and there are no major issues with his condition. Since he is an outstanding pitcher, as long as his strike rate is 70%, he is an excellent pitcher. Sometimes there can be a difference between strikes and balls, but the ratio of strikes to balls was reported to be very good," expressing hope for his return. The Doosan Bears had been short on reliable winning group resources, except for closer Kim Taek-kyun and winning pitcher Lee Young-ha. On top of that, sidearm pitcher Park Jung-soo made a surprising contribution. With Lee Byung-hun's return and Choi Ji-kang's imminent return, manager Lee Seung-yeop, who once said, "The road to closer Kim Taek-kyun was very difficult," can now have less worry with the return of these two winning pitchers.
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