Doosan Bears foreign-born pitcher Brandon Waddell overcame a series of ups and downs to lead his team to back-to-back wins and a midweek three-game sweep.
Doosan won the 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes 11-4 on Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Following a 6-1 victory the previous day, Doosan rang the winning bell for the second consecutive day and secured a three-game midweek series with the victory.
Doosan got a solid start from Brandon, who pitched six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with three walks and one strikeout. Brandon earned his sixth win of the season with a quality start, mixing in a fastball that topped out at 151 mph with a slider, changeup, and cut fastball.
Brandon had a dicey situation on defense in the top of the first inning when Doosan took a 2-0 lead. He was hit directly in the head by a hard hit ball from Kiwoom Dawson at first base and feared a serious injury.
But Brandon was determined. He signaled that he was fine and continued to pitch. With runners on first and third, Kim’s fly ball to center field allowed the runner from third to score, but he got out of the inning without further damage.
Brandon continued to strand runners in every inning after that, but he was able to extend his out count with his excellent crisis management skills. With Doosan leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Song Sung-moon’s grounder to shortstop was misplayed by second baseman Kang Seung-ho, cutting the lead to 2-3.
Brandon then struck out Lee Ju-hyung and got Joo Sung-won to ground out to third to end the inning. This set the stage for Doosan’s comeback in the top of the sixth inning, as the Doosan bats came right back.
After the game, Brandon said, “I’m happy the team won. “I’m happy that the team won, but I’m also disappointed with myself because I threw a lot of pitches,” he said. “But I wanted to go six innings for the team and then come down. I know that after 105 pitches, you get tired, but I just wanted to do my part on the mound.
“It was a fastball in the middle of the strike zone and the batter hit it well and it hit me in the head. He is not experiencing any dizziness or discomfort at this time.”
As for the error by second baseman Kang Seung-ho in the fifth inning, he said it was a common occurrence in baseball. When Seung-ho approached him and apologized, he showed great compassion for his teammate.
“Seung-ho Kang came up to me during the game and apologized for his mistake,” Brandon said, “Mistakes are just part of the game. Anyone can be in the same situation. I told him that and told him not to worry about it. I’m really fine,” he emphasized.메이저놀이터
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop praised Brandon, saying, “Brandon did his part by pitching six innings despite the low pitch count.” Brandon led the team to a series win and a fifth-place finish.