Choi Won-jun (Doosan Bears), who has been suffering from a dreadful winning misfortune this season, will challenge for his first win in 14 games out of 15 after a 12-day break.
The Doosan Bears are preparing for their sixth matchup of the season against the SSG Landers in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, set to be held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th. This is the first game of a three-game series during the week.
Doosan has a record of 29 wins, 3 ties, and 42 losses, placing 9th, while SSG has 36 wins, 3 ties, and 34 losses, placing 6th. Last weekend, Doosan faced their rival LG Twins, with one game canceled due to rain on Friday, finishing with 1 win and 1 loss, while SSG, at home against the KIA Tigers, ended with 1 tie and 1 loss after the Friday rain cancellation. The season head-to-head record between the two teams is 1 win and 4 losses in favor of SSG.
Doosan announced the submarine pitcher Choi Won-jun as the starter to gain an early advantage in the three-game series. Choi Won-jun's season record stands at 14 games with no wins and 6 losses, an earned run average of 4.95. In his last outing against the Hanwha Eagles on the 11th, he pitched 4⅓ innings, allowing 8 hits (including 1 home run), 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and suffered from a poor performance, leading to his removal from the first team, allowing him a time for reorganization on the 12th.
Choi Won-jun, designated as the 1st overall pick by Doosan in 2017, is experiencing the worst winning misfortune of his career this year. He is particularly affected by this misfortune as he is in a preliminary free agency season, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted. While his earned run average isn't particularly low, the quality of his pitching isn't such that he has not won in 14 games. Despite four quality starts, he has not secured a win, and the lineup seems especially quiet or the bullpen shaky on the days he pitches. His run support stands at only 2.8 runs per 9 innings, which is quite low.
Doosan interim manager Jo Seong-hwan noted two weeks ago when deciding on Choi Won-jun's removal, "(Choi Won-jun) seemed to have a hard time. He is exhausted physically and probably mentally as well. Since no wins have been recorded in the games he pitched, it must have been quite tough for him." He added, "Choi Won-jun says he is okay if the team wins, but he may have felt a lot of pressure mentally. I hope this break will serve as a period for better reorganization for both the team and Choi Won-jun."
Choi Won-jun will make his first appearance against SSG this year. Last year, he struggled with a record of 1 win and 1 loss with an earned run average of 7.56 in 6 games. It remains to be seen whether his rest on the 12th will lead to his first win.
Meanwhile, SSG will be sending foreign pitcher Mitch White to the mound. White's season record stands at 11 games with 5 wins and 2 losses, and an earned run average of 2.40. In his last outing against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 17th, he pitched 6 innings without allowing any runs, marking his first win in a month since the doubleheader against Hanwha on May 17.
White is facing Doosan for the first time in his debut. He experienced Jamsil Stadium for the first time on the 11th against the LG Twins, where he pitched 5⅓ innings, conceding 3 runs but did not take a decision.
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