Doosan Bears veteran left-hander Jang Won-jun, 38, presented the team with 30 pizzas on Thursday. It was the day after he reached the long-awaited 130-win plateau.
Jang Won-jun started against Jamsil Samsung on the 23rd and pitched 5 innings, 70 pitches, 7 hits, no walks, 4 strikeouts, and 4 runs to reach the coveted 130-win plateau. It was his first start in 958 days since Oct. 7, 2020, against the Incheon SSG Landers, and his first win in 1844 days since May 5, 2018, against the Jamsil LG Twins. The batting lineup pounded out 14 hits in a 7-5 victory.
It was a team effort, from Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop to reliever Yang Ji An to the bullpen, who pitched four innings after Jang Won-jun went down. Jang expressed his gratitude over pizza.
“I wanted to express my feelings to everyone who struggled together to make this record,” he said, “and thank you again 토토사이트.
Of course, there were two rough patches. The first was when they gave up four runs in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, and the second was when they walked their leadoff hitter, Oh Jae-il, in the top of the fourth inning, facing a 6-4 deficit.
Lee said, “In the second inning, we didn’t prepare our bullpen. I wanted him to get through it, and it was his first start in 958 days, and when you go down like that, you don’t know when you’re going to get a chance, so I wanted to give him a chance. He said he didn’t want to quit like that, so the staff knew he was desperate. It was only one day, but I think he pitched enough to convince himself and gave him time to feel what he was capable of. I made some mistakes, but I got through it,” he said.
“In the fourth inning, we had our bullpen ready, and they did a good job. Jang Won-jun is important and it’s important for our team to win, so I had to get him ready. As you can see, it was the first day of a six-game series, so I wanted him to go as long as possible,” he said, adding that he was glad Jang was able to pitch five innings.
One of the most direct contributors to Jang’s 130 wins was catcher Yang Ji Hee. She helped him last longer innings by changing his pitches when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning, and convinced him that “the ball is still good” when he asked for a change of pitches at a time when Lee was contemplating one. At the plate, he went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.
Jang Won-jun Heo Kyung-min ⓒKyun Hye-mi Reporter
Jang Won-jun Yang Ji ⓒKyung Hye-mi Reporter
Yang Yang-ji, who hugged Jang Won-jun tightly after the 130th win, said, “I didn’t shed any tears, but the corners of my eyes were moist. I want to do well with my brother for a long time.” He expressed his sincerity.
The pitcher who struggled the most in the bullpen was Kim Myung-shin. He continued to warm up by throwing two innings in the bullpen in the fourth and fifth innings, and then came in with runners on first and second in the top of the seventh to throw ⅔ scoreless innings with only one runner on base to succeed Lee Byung-heon.
Kim said he was honored to get his first hold of the season on Jang Won-jun’s 130th win. “Actually, (Jang) Won-jun was the pitcher who pitched when my brother got his 130th win as a middle reliever, so I wanted to make sure he got the win. Yesterday (23rd), I prepared early from the fourth inning, but the coach asked me if I wanted to go back because I threw a lot (in the bullpen), so I said I’ll do one more, so I went out in time for Pirela’s at-bat. I didn’t throw a lot of pitches because I’ve been in and out of the bullpen a lot. I probably threw about 15 pitches. I threw them one by one, waiting for my arm to warm up,” he explained.
Jang didn’t forget to thank his teammates, who would have cheered him on more than anyone else for his 130 wins, and they were ready to take on the second game in a row with a full belly of pizza delivered to their room.