KBO postseason series win in sight, manager hoping for long outing from starter

All News 18:05 November 05, 2020

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- A win on Thursday will send the Doosan Bears into the next round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, and their manager Kim Tae-hyoung would like to accomplish that with minimal use of his bullpen.

The Bears shut down the LG Twins 4-0 in Wednesday's opener of their best-of-three first-round series. Starter Chris Flexen pitched six scoreless innings and then three relievers took care of the rest.

Raul Alcantara will start Game 2 for the Bears.

Doosan Bears manager Kim Tae-hyoung speaks to reporters before Game 2 of the Korea Baseball Organization first-round playoff series against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Nov. 5, 2020. (Yonhap)

"If he's pitching well, he could take us all the way to the end," Kim said of the league's only 20-game winner from the regular season. "I am hoping he could give us about seven innings. If he starts rushing things on the mound and the hitters start fouling off more pitches, then we'll give him the hook."

Alcantara finished second in the KBO with 198 2/3 innings pitched across 31 starts. In his final regular season start last Friday, Alcantara threw his season-high eight innings.

Veteran second baseman Oh Jae-won will make his second straight start. He came through with two RBIs in Wednesday's victory, when he got the start ahead of injured regular Choi Joo-hwan.

"I put him out there for defense, but he did a great job at the plate, too," Kim said. "He had a tough regular season, not getting a lot of playing time. But I could see he was trying hard to make up for that lost time. I'll keep putting him in the starting lineup for the time being."