It was a game that proved why the Doosan Bears have been a top-five team all season. Brandon Waddell (29-USA), the “belly” stranger back with the Doosan Bears, gave it his all and helped his team to victory. After the game, he thanked his teammates for their support.
The Doosan Bears won their 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the KT Wiz 7-4 on Friday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. With the win, Doosan moved into a tie for third place in the standings with a record of 47 wins, 43 losses, and one tie.
Brandon’s relief pitching shined. In the first inning, he gave up an infield single to Moon Sang-chul, but retired the next two batters. In the second, he gave up a leadoff single to Jang Jang-woo, but struck out Kim Sang-soo and Oh Yoon-seok to end the inning. Two batters later, Alford gave up a double to right-center field, but Moon induced a grounder to first base to end the inning. The fourth and fifth innings were a triple play. While Brandon pitched well, the team’s offense scored seven runs in the fifth inning to take some of the pressure off Brandon.
After giving up an infield single to leadoff hitter Ahn Chi-young in the sixth, Brandon walked Hwang Jae-gyun two batters later, but got Lee Ho-yeon to fly out to right field to keep the scoreless streak alive. Brandon took the mound again in the seventh and got a triple play to end the inning. Brandon finished the day with seven innings of four-hit ball, eight strikeouts and one walk. He threw 91 pitches, including 38 fastballs, 27 cutters, 17 sliders, seven changeups, and two curves. His fastball topped out at 151 mph and his average fastball was 148 mph. He threw 63 strikes and 28 balls.
In fact, Doosan went all out in the fourth inning, sending out Kim Myung-shin, Chung Chul-won, Park Chi-guk, and Hong Gun-hee, even though they were trailing. But in the end, they couldn’t turn the game around and lost by one point. If Brandon hadn’t been able to hold on early in the game, the bullpen could have been overloaded. But in the heat of the day, Brandon took the pressure off the bullpen by going seven innings. Although he gave up three runs and had to be relieved by Kim Myung-shin and Hong Gun-hee, it was a huge relief effort.
Brandon is a foreign pitcher that Doosan reacquired to replace Dylan Pyle, who was released during the season. His contract totaled $280,000 ($356,000). Last year, Brandon had already joined the Doosan Bears as a replacement foreign player, posting a 5-3 record and a 3.60 ERA in 11 games. However, he was informed that he would not be re-signed after the 2022 season and headed to Taiwan. This year, he started 11 games for the Rakuten Monkeys in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), going 5-4 with a 2.69 ERA. With Dillon’s release, Doosan reached out again, and the streak continues.
He’s been on fire this season. He has been performing like an ace. In seven starts since June 24 against Kiwoom, he is 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA. In 42 innings pitched, he has allowed 33 hits (1 HR), 10 walks, 44 strikeouts, 12 runs (10 earned), a WHIP of 1.02 and a batting average of .220. He has five quality starts (six innings or less). Along with Brandon, Doosan has a formidable one-two punch in Alcantara (10-5, 2.46 ERA) and Kwak Bin (9-3, 2.44 ERA). The trio has been the driving force behind Doosan’s cruise this season.
After the game, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “Brandon pitched a perfect game, throwing seven shutout innings. He pitched well against right-handed hitters and had good chemistry with catcher Jang Seung-hyun,” said Lee.먹튀검증
“We were able to win today because the batters put up a lot of runs early, and I had a very good chemistry with Jang Seung-hyun, and I think he’s a very good player, as I felt last year,” said Brandon, who was humble enough to give credit to his teammates. “I’m always trying to change up my pitches and pitches to win games, and I think that worked out well today,” he said. “I think you can’t control the weather,” Brandon said, “but you have to take care of yourself. I think if you drink a lot of water and take care of yourself, good things happen. I was encouraged by the fact that the fans came and cheered me on in the hot weather. Thank you to the fans.”
