The Doosan Bears, a professional baseball team, started to consolidate third place with the league’s strongest foreigner one-two punch. Brandon Waddell (29, right), who joined last month, proved his competitiveness and made a perfect pairing with ace Raul Alcantara (31, left). The two also led the team's eight-game winning streak that began on the first day of July. Doosan's race toward fall baseball has accelerated. 토토
Brandon is the number one contributor to Doosan's power stabilization. After joining as a substitute for Dylan Pyle, who canceled his contract last month, he blocked with less than 1 earned run while digesting 6 or more innings in all 3 games he started. He has an earned run average of 0.90.
He didn't even need an adjustment period. Brandon experienced the KBO league wearing a Doosan uniform as a substitute for Ariel Miranda in July of last year. In 11 games, he went 5-3 with a 3.60 earned run average, but left without renewing his contract.
Doosan hurriedly looked for a replacement for Dylan, who was newly recruited this year, as he lost his pulse due to a series of injuries. Instead of looking for a new face, he called back Brandon, the 'predecessor' who was active as a starting pitcher in the Taiwan Professional Baseball Rakuten Monkeys. Brandon returned to Doosan with a unique record of 'joining a substitute for two consecutive years'.
Ultimately, it was the best choice. Brandon announced his health by recording 2 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings in the return match against Kiwoom Heroes on the 24th of last month. In his next pitch against the Lotte Giants, he also pitched 7 scoreless innings. Although he did not become a winning pitcher due to lack of scoring support in both games, he boasted an ace-level presence on the mound.
In his third appearance, against the Samsung Lions on the 6th, he finally won his first win with 7 innings, 11 strikeouts and 1 run. He also led the team to a five-game winning streak. Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop smiled broadly at Brandon’s strong pitching relay, which was stronger than last year.
Director Lee said, “Brandon has nothing more to ask for if he continues like he is now. He thought it would be a success even if he could just go around the starting rotation, but he has been showing top-level competitiveness in the league so far.”
Alcantara is also stably serving as the pillar of the team mound. He is 9-3 with a 2.03 earned run average, ranking second in earned run average and third in most wins. Of the 17 games he pitched this year, there are only two games where he failed to make it past the fifth inning. Since the match against the Hanwha Eagles on April 20, he has played 5 or more innings in 14 consecutive games. Among them, there were 7 games where more than 7 innings were thrown, and 3 games where 8 innings were digested. In the match against Lotte on the 2nd and against Kiwoom on the 8th, he also played well with 2 runs in 6 consecutive innings, laying the foundation for the team's 7th consecutive win.
Alcantara has more KBO league experience than Brandon. He made his debut as a member of KT Wiz in 2019 and moved to Doosan in 2020, posting a special record of 20 wins and 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.54. That year, he won the most wins and the Golden Glove in the pitching category.
After moving to the Japanese professional baseball Hanshin Tigers the following year, he suffered the pain of being kicked out after leaving 4 wins, 1 save, 25 holds, and an ERA of 3.96 in two seasons. Doosan reached out to Alcantara, saying, “Let’s be together again.” Alcantara is also happy to return to Doosan, where the flower of resurgence is blooming.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop expressed his belief, saying, “I am sure that Alcantara will win unconditionally on the day they start.” Alcantara said, “The Doosan training part takes care of me diligently, and the coaches tell me their know-how in detail. It seems to have improved further with the addition of my experience in Japan,” he said confidently.