'Even Korea's ERA leader and foreign ace were not the No. 1 starter,' manager says directly: Doosan's No. 1 starter takes on special mission to break losing streak today (26th) against Samsung

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears, currently leading the league this season, hosted the Samsung Lions at home and suffered a two-game losing streak. With the series sweep now at stake, the manager has directly named the No. 1 starter who will take the mound with a special mission to end the losing streak.

On the 26th at 6 p.m., Doosan will face Samsung in a regular-season home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

Doosan lost 4-15 to Samsung on the 24th and then fell 1-4 in yesterday's (25th) game. After winning three consecutive games last week, Doosan had ended its previous series against KT with a 2-2 tie on the 21st. The team then took a break on the 22nd and 23rd due to cancellations caused by field conditions.

As a result, Doosan lost both games of the two-game series against Samsung. On the 24th, they started with KBO League's ERA leader for this season, Choi Min-seok, but he collapsed early after pitching 2⅔ innings (72 pitches), allowing 7 hits, issuing 4 walks, striking out 1 batter, and giving up 10 runs (4 earned). The following day on the 25th, foreign pitcher Jacklog started but took the loss after allowing 4 runs over 6 innings.

Now on the 26th, Doosan will start with domestic ace Kwak Bin. The weight on his shoulders is heavy. He steps onto the mound with the responsibility of ending the losing streak.

Kwak has appeared in 18 games this season, recording 8 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 2.80. Over a total of 103 innings, he allowed 93 hits (8 home runs), issued 29 walks, recorded 120 strikeouts, gave up 36 runs (32 earned), posted a WHIP of 1.18, and held opponents to a batting average against of 0.237. He also achieved 11 quality starts (starting pitcher pitching at least 6 innings with 3 or fewer earned runs).

Against Samsung this year, he has one game with no decision, an ERA of 4.50, allowing 5 hits and issuing 1 walk over 6 innings while striking out 7 batters and giving up 3 runs (3 earned).

Recently, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung, when asked about the team's No. 1 starter, said, "Choi Min-seok has been doing well, but it is still a process we are building," and firmly stated, "The No. 1 starter is Kwak Bin." Manager Kim added, "If I were to think about who should start Game 1 of the Korean Series, among our current starters, I would choose Kwak Bin. Because he was the No. 1 starter, he started from the first game in the second half," expressing his trust.

Doosan's Choi Min-seok has appeared in 18 games this season, recording 9 wins and 3 losses with an ERA of 2.49. Over 101⅓ innings, he allowed 84 hits (3 home runs), issued 42 walks, recorded 93 strikeouts, gave up 40 runs (28 earned), posted a WHIP of 1.24, and held opponents to a batting average against of 0.222. He achieved 12 quality starts in total.

Additionally, Benjamin, who recently signed a formal contract with Doosan, has appeared in 15 games with 4 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 2.66. Over 84⅔ innings, he allowed 85 hits (3 home runs), issued 22 walks, recorded 80 strikeouts, gave up 30 runs (25 earned), posted a WHIP of 1.27, held opponents to a batting average against of 0.262, and achieved 8 quality starts.

Both Choi Min-seok and Benjamin have delivered performances worthy of being considered the team's No. 1 starters, yet the manager continues to back 'national team ace' Kwak Bin as the No. 1 starter. Will Kwak Bin truly meet the expectations of the manager and Doosan fans and break the team's losing streak?

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*This content was translated by AI.