*This content was translated by AI.
The 5th-ranked Doosan Bears are on a three-game winning streak and looking higher up the standings. However, they have encountered a major hurdle this week. Midweek (21–23), they will face the 2nd-place KT Wiz, who are on a seven-game winning streak in Suwon. Then over the weekend (24–26), they will host the 1st-place Samsung Lions at their Jamsil home field.
Complicating matters further, Samsung has announced that newly acquired foreign pitchers Fedek (30) and Boss (34) are scheduled to start against Doosan on the 24th and 26th, respectively. On the 25th, Won Tae-in (26) will take the mound. Since Samsung's midweek game is against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome, there is no need to adjust their rotation due to rain.
However, Doosan also has its "trusted assets." This schedule is familiar, having been experienced once before, and it carries "pleasant memories."
Kim Won-hyeong (54), Doosan manager, responded to reporters' question ahead of the midweek game against KT in Suwon on the 21st: "It's similar to last time. We faced both KT and Samsung back-to-back then as well."
As Kim noted, Doosan played against KT and Samsung during a week from the 26th–31. The venues were reversed compared to this week—Jamsil for Samsung and Daegu for KT. At that time, Samsung was in 1st place, while KT sat in 3rd, one game behind. Doosan had been stuck in joint 6th place after suffering a sweep by the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon over the previous weekend (the 22nd–24).
The midweek series against KT ended with one win and two losses. Then, in the weekend road game against Samsung, Doosan delivered a thrilling victory that will be long remembered by its fans. On the 29th, Kang Seung-ho hit a home run with the bases loaded, one out in the bottom of the 9th inning while trailing 4–7, turning the score to 9–7 for the win. The following day, on the 30th, Jung Soobin launched another grand slam in the bottom of the 6th inning while down 3–6, securing an 8–7 victory. Two consecutive walk-off grand slams in a series were a record-breaking feat achieved for the first time in 24 years since Park Jeong-tae and Kim Eung-guk of the Lotte Giants in 2002, marking only the second such occurrence in KBO history.
What is even more encouraging for Doosan is that this experience has completely transformed the team's atmosphere. Before the series against Samsung, their win-loss record stood at .500 with a four-game deficit (23 wins, 1 tie, 27 losses). Since then, they have won five consecutive winning series and are now on a recovery track. Over the past month, their record stands at 19 games played: 13 wins, 1 tie, and 5 losses, pushing their season margin to +5 wins (47 wins, 3 ties, 42 losses), which is better than any previous year.
This season, Doosan holds a 4–1–4 record against Samsung. Manager Kim Won-hyeong stated, "Samsung has strong batting and stable pitching, but players—both batters and pitchers—can have different performances on any given day. You only know how a game will go once you play it. Our current players are in good spirits." He expressed confidence in the team's readiness.
He added, "We need to approach each game with the mindset of 'just win today.' The position players are hitting well and moving actively on the bases, so we'll make good use of that," conveying his determination.
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*This content was translated by AI.
