"Unbelievable." Kwak Bin, "Why?" Leaving a 157 km/h fastball and throwing a curveball from there... Conceding a go-ahead two-run homer to Austin. "Most runs allowed in Wild Card history" [WC1 On-Site]

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KBO League ace Kwak Bin faced a difficult situation by allowing a big hit as early as the first inning.

The Doosan Bears and LG Twins are set to play Game 1 of the 2026 KBO Postseason Wild Card Decider on the 14th at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

Doosan, which finished the regular season in fifth place, must win both games of the Wild Card series to advance to the Junior Playoffs.

On the other hand, LG, which finished the regular season in fourth place, can advance to the Junior Playoffs by winning just one of Game 1 or Game 2 of the Wild Card Decider.

The team that wins today will face third-place KIA, who have already secured a spot in the Junior Playoffs, in the Junior Playoff series starting on the 17th at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.

Doosan starter Kwak Bin allowed runs from the first inning. After Doosan failed to score in the top of the first, in the bottom of the first, leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki reached base on a hit by pitch, but was forced out at second base on a ground ball to first by the following Park Hae-min. Batter-runner Park Hae-min was safe.

Then Austin stepped up to the plate. The first pitch was a 156 km/h ball. The second pitch was a slider for a strike. The third pitch, a curveball, was called a ball. The control of the curveball was not working.

On the fourth pitch, Austin swung and missed at a 156 km/h fastball. He struggled to time Kwak Bin's fast pitches. Following that, he fouled off a 157 km/h fastball on the fifth pitch. His bat continued to fail to keep up with Kwak Bin's speed.

Then came the sixth pitch. The pitch selected by the Kwak Bin-Yoon Jun-ho battery was a 128 km/h curveball. However, the control was not working. Austin hit the ball that barely grazed the upper part of the strike zone squarely, drawing a white arc high into the night sky at Jamsil Stadium. Austin's go-ahead two-run homer to seize the initiative. The exit velocity was 169.2 km/h. The launch angle was 35.3 degrees. The distance was 119 meters.

After that, Kwak Bin struck out Moon Jeong-bin on a fourth-pitch swinging strikeout, then issued a straight walk to Moon Bo-kyung. However, he recorded a ground ball to shortstop against Song Chan-ui on the first pitch, ending the inning without allowing further runs.

With the home run allowed to Austin, Kwak Bin set the record for the most career home runs allowed in Wild Card history (3). (Second place: former Kiwoom Brigham, former LG Kelly, and former SK Wyverns Kelly, all with 2). He also marked the records for the most career runs allowed in Wild Card history (12 runs; second place: SK Kelly with 10) and the most career earned runs allowed in Wild Card history (12 runs; second place: SK Kelly with 10).

Meanwhile, Doosan set its starting batting order as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Severino (first baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Jeong Soobin (center fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jo Su-haeng (right fielder). The starting pitcher was Kwak Bin.

This season, Kwak Bin appeared in 27 games, recording an 11-7 record with a 2.24 ERA. Over a total of 161 innings, he allowed 129 hits (11 home runs), issued 39 walks, struck out 197 batters, and allowed 45 runs (40 earned). His Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) was 1.04, and the batting average against him was 0.216. He achieved a quality start (at least six innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs) on 20 occasions. Against LG this year, he started in three games, recording a 0-1 record with a 1.96 ERA. Over a total of 18⅓ innings, he allowed 15 hits (1 home run), issued 2 walks, struck out 27 batters, and allowed 4 runs (4 earned). The batting average against him in games versus LG was 0.224.

LG set its starting batting order as follows: Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Moon Jeong-bin (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Gu Bon-hyuk (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), and Shin Min-jae (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Carlos Karasuko. This season, Karasuko appeared in 11 games, recording a 6-3 record with a 4.05 ERA. Over a total of 60 innings, he allowed 52 hits (3 home runs), issued 10 walks, struck out 50 batters, and allowed 30 runs (27 earned). His WHIP was 1.03, and the batting average against him was 0.228. He achieved a quality start on five occasions. Against Doosan this year, he pitched a perfect game over seven innings with two strikeouts in one appearance.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original