Doosan, which has been smiling with its foreign one-two punch, got the sweep, this time with foreign hitter Jose Rojas, 30, at the plate.
Doosan won 8-6 against Kiwoom at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 24. With the win, Doosan 텍사스홀덤 swept a three-game midweek series against Kiwoom, extending its winning streak to six games against Kiwoom dating back to June 25 at Gocheok, and further consolidating its fifth-place position.
On the 22nd and 23rd, foreign pitchers Raul Alcantara and Brandon Waddell shined. On the 22nd, Raul Alcantara pitched seven innings of three-hit ball with one walk and seven strikeouts. It was Alcantara’s first start in eight games. On the 23rd, Brandon threw 115 pitches to earn a quality start, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits, three walks, and three strikeouts in six innings.
It was Rojas‘ day at the plate. He went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, a home run, a walk, five RBI, and three runs scored.
With the exception of his double, Rojas hit a single, a triple, and a home run, coming close to a cycling hit.
The bats were hot from the first at-bat. With one out in the first inning, he took a seven-pitch, 143-kilometer fastball from Kiwoom starter Ian McKinney over the right field fence.
In the third, Rojas walked, scored on Yang’s single and came around to score on Yang Seok-hwan’s sacrifice fly to left field. With the score tied at 4-4 in the fifth, Rojas doubled off Kiwoom Ha Young-min and came home on Yang’s grounder to second. Doosan took a 7-4 lead.
In the seventh inning, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-ho reached on an error by the opposing third baseman and hit a line drive to the right side of the infield. Rojas stole first and second and advanced to third on the play.
His final at-bat came in the ninth inning. With the score 8-5 and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Rojas flied out to center field.
The last cycling hit by a foreign hitter in the KBO came in 2018, when KT’s Mel Junior Rojas accomplished the feat on May 29 against Daegu Samsung Electronics. Doosan’s Rojas was one hit short of the record.
Rojas is an outfielder that Doosan signed after parting ways with Jose Miguel Fernandez, who spent four seasons with the team. He didn’t quite live up to expectations in the first half of the season, hitting .222 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 65 games, but he’s been a key part of the team’s late-season push for a top-five finish.
On the day, Doosan’s starting pitcher Kim Dong-joo was pulled early after giving up four runs in just 1.2 innings, but the bats held up. They used six bullpen pitchers to hold on for the win.
Kiwoom, on the other hand, once again failed to live up to expectations, with McKinney giving up six runs in four innings. Although he matched Doosan’s hit total, he was plagued by mound instability as he walked eight batters.