Doosan Bears, who suffered an unexpected sweep loss in the opening series, will meet the 'championship contender' KT Wiz. Can they change their momentum in light of early-season setbacks like the injuries of 'multiple wins' Kwak Bin and 'winning squad' Hong Geon-hee, as well as the struggles of the star foreign trio?

The Doosan Bears, led by manager Lee Seung-yup, are facing a three-game series against KT Wiz in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Suwon KT Wiz Park starting from the 25th.

Doosan's performance in the opening series last weekend was two losses. They suffered a shocking sweep against the SSG Landers, a team that most experts did not include as a top five contender. After a disappointing 5-6 loss by just one run in a hitting battle during the opening game, they knelt down the next day with a 2-5 defeat. Doosan commenced the season with a win rate of .500, with -2 along with the Lotte Giants and Kiwoom Heroes.

The damage was even greater as they suffered two losses, despite having what is deemed as an unprecedented foreign pitcher duo. Major league veteran Kol Ervin, who boasts a career total of 28 wins, struggled in the opening game with 5 innings, 7 hits allowed, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, and 4 earned runs, while left-handed pitcher Jack Log, expected to deliver with his sweeper, also faltered with 6 innings, 7 hits allowed, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 4 earned runs in his debut game.

In the batting lineup, another former major leaguer, Jake Cave, was silent. He played in 2 games, with 9 plate appearances, recording 0 hits from 8 at-bats, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts, failing to meet expectations. Doosan invested a total of $2.8 million (approximately 4.1 billion won) to build a formidable foreign trio, but there were no strategies to adapt to the 'new environment' variable.

After a day of rest on the 24th, Doosan will step into a new series starting from the 25th. However, unfortunately, they are set to face KT, referred to as the challenger to the 'championship contender' KIA Tigers, having completely exhausted their foreign pitcher cards. KT finished with a record of one win and one loss against the Hanwha Eagles in the opening series and concluded the week on a high note, boosted by a thrilling walk-off hit by Bae Jeong-tae in the 11th inning on the 23rd.

In fact, Doosan had originally planned to assert themselves in the three-game series with 'wizard killer' Kwak Bin at the forefront. Kwak Bin had shown dominance against KT last year, winning 5 out of 6 games with a 1.51 earned run average. However, all plans fell apart when he sustained an injury to his internal oblique muscle in the final mock test of the Futures League just before the opening. Kwak Bin's re-examination is scheduled for early next month.

Manager Lee Seung-yup has chosen 'original local ace' Choi Won-jun as a replacement for Kwak Bin, who was considered for conversion to the winning squad. Choi Won-jun will start on the 25th, followed by Choi Seung-yong on the 26th, and Kim Yu-seong on the 27th.

Before Kwak Bin, Choi Won-jun, who was a local ace, had consistently trained hard during the inactive period, spending his own money to attend an academy in the United States. In the exhibition games, he performed well with 1 win and no losses in 2 games and an earned run average of 1.29, yielding satisfactory results from his hard work. Although he faced competition for the fifth starting spot from rookie Kim Yu-seong, he has now regained a starting opportunity due to Kwak Bin's absence, especially in the position of the local ace he was once familiar with.

Choi Won-jun's career record against KT includes 21 games (13 starts) with 2 wins, 6 losses, and an earned run average of 5.60. In Suwon, he has 10 games (6 starts) with 1 win, 2 losses, and an earned run average of 6.44. He had also performed poorly against KT last year, recording 1 win and 1 loss with an earned run average of 10.00 in 2 games, but given that he worked harder than anyone else in the offseason, attention is focused on his bounce-back. Choi Won-jun also carries the responsibility of filling the shoes of his close younger brother and team's ace, Kwak Bin.

On the other hand, KT, facing Doosan, brought out local ace Koh Young-pyo. Koh Young-pyo, who has relaxed in his exhibition games with 2 wins and an earned run average of 3.38 over 2 games, had previously faced Doosan last year with 3 games and no wins, suffering 3 losses with an earned run average of 7.20. Coincidentally, he will face off against a teammate from Dongguk University who is three years his junior in his season debut.

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