Doosan Bears and KIA Tigers will play the first ‘Dangun Match’ of the 2023 season. Both teams are aiming for the first victory of the confrontation with the first foreign ace. It is an interesting starting matchup between Doosan Raul Alcantara and KIA Sean Anderson.
Doosan and KIA will face off at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on April 7th. Over the past three seasons, the annual head-to-head performance of the two teams is 2022 season 9-7 KIA advantage, 2021 season 9-2 draw 5 loss Doosan advantage, 2020 season 13-3 loss Doosan advantage.
After recording 1 win and 1 loss against the Lotte Giants in the home opening series last weekend, Doosan achieved a 2-1 winning series in a 3-game series against the NC Dinos this week. During the weekday series, the weather was not so good that there were rain delays and no games in the metropolitan area in succession, but Doosan played all three matches during the week while fighting bloody battles in the rain.
There was also a consumption of the winning team. Doosan Pil Seung-jo Hong Kun-hee and Jeong Cheol-won pitched in relief on the 4th and 6th to help keep the team victorious. Lee Byung-hun, who was the only left-handed bullpen player, was eliminated from the first team on the 6th after an unfortunate pitch. In many ways, Doosan is facing the first away series of the season after consuming the mound in the midweek series.
At least, what Doosan believes is the shoulder of ‘1st starter’ Alcantara. Alcantara, who returned to Doosan after three years, started in the opening game of the league and showed less than expected pitching results with 6 hits (1 home run) and 4 runs in 4 innings. On the starting mound for the game on the 7th, Alcantara should show the overwhelming pitching that the club and fans expected. Alcantara recorded an average ERA of 3.72 with 17 strikeouts and 4 walks in 3 appearances against KIA while belonging to Doosan in the 2020 season.
Conversely, KIA welcomes the home opening series without properly playing a single game in the KT WIZ away series during the week. KIA unintentionally took a rain break for three consecutive games with no game in the rain on the 4th, postponement in the rain on the 5th, and no game in the rain on the 6th. Naturally, the bullpen also fully recharged their stamina while taking a long break without pitching for four days in a row. 먹튀검증
KIA slightly adjusted the starting rotation by taking a break in the rain for three days in a row. The debut match of Yoon Yeong-cheol, the “baby tiger,” who was selected as the “fifth starter,” has been postponed to next week (April 15, against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes). Starting with Anderson on the 7th, Lee Eui-ri on the 8th, Medina on the 9th, and Yang Hyeon-jong on the 11th, the starting rotation is in operation.
On the 7th, KIA starter Anderson started in the opening game against SSG Landers and recorded 6 hits (1 home run), 2 strikeouts, 2 walks and 3 runs in 6.2 innings. In the first appearance of the season, he succeeded in achieving a quality start, but the team’s defeat faded the light. As the match between Alcantara and the right-handed fireballer ace has been completed, Anderson is expected to show a mighty battle for a victory in the home opener and his first win of the season.