Doosan's season start, which is aimed at advancing to the Korea Series, is gloomy. Amid injuries to key mound players, they have fallen into a pit of three consecutive losses, and a clear breakthrough does not appear until it is the turn of their foreign ace.

The Doosan Bears, led by manager Lee Seung-yeop, suffered a 3-8 defeat in their first matchup of the season against KT Wiz in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 25th.

Last weekend, Doosan lost all of its opening series to SSG Landers in Incheon and has dropped to a tie for 9th place with Kiwoom Heroes, sinking deeper into a three-game losing streak. Among the three games that took place after the opening, only Doosan and Kiwoom have yet to taste their first victory.

Doosan's starter that day was Choi Won-jun. Originally, it was the turn of the home-grown ace Kwak Bin, known as the 'killer of the magician,' but he was sidelined with a partial damage to his abdominal muscle right before the opening, resulting in Choi Won-jun, who was eliminated from the competition for the fifth starter, taking his place.

Before the game, manager Lee Seung-yeop expressed confidence in Choi Won-jun, saying, "Due to the lack of reliable resources, Choi Won-jun must be responsible for at least 6 innings. Nevertheless, he has been preparing as a starter, and since he was in good condition during the exhibition games, I hope he can maintain that condition." However, the player who competed for the fifth starter position was insufficient to fill the shoes of the home-grown ace.

After barely overcoming a crisis with runners on first and second base in the bottom of the 1st inning, Choi Won-jun gave up a 1-RBI leadoff double to Cheon Seong-ho in the bottom of the 2nd inning, putting him at 1 out with a runner on third. Although he managed to prevent the stealing attempt of the runner on second base, Bae Jeong-dae, through a pickoff, he allowed a left-handed hit to Kim Sang-su, followed by a painful two-run home run to Kang Baek-ho.

Choi Won-jun held off scoreless innings in the bottom of the 3rd and 4th, but he reached 84 pitches, and at the start of the 5th inning, he handed the baton to Kim Ho-jun. Choi Won-jun's record was 4 innings, 6 hits allowed (1 home run), 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 3 earned runs. Kwak Bin's absence was greatly felt.

The 5th inning was truly a nightmare. Kim Ho-jun, who realized his dream of making the opening roster, struck out Kang Baek-ho with a swing-and-miss and got Mel Rojas Jr. with a ground ball to first base. It seemed that manager Lee Seung-yeop's strategic decisions were working, but he gave up a decisive solo home run to Heo Gyeong-min and allowed a hit to Kim Min-hyeok, leading to his replacement with Choi Jun-ho.

Choi Jun-ho also wavered. He allowed a straight walk to Jang Seong-woo and hit Cheon Seong-ho with a pitch, creating a bases-loaded crisis, and then allowed a three-run clearing double to Hwang Jae-kyun and a 1-RBI left-handed timely hit to Bae Jeong-dae, bowing his head.

Just before the opening, Doosan was also deprived of the reliable Hongsan-gi due to elbow ligament damage along with Kwak Bin. On top of this, left-handed reliable pitcher Lee Byeong-heon, who performed well in the opening series, was also removed from the first team due to symptoms of gastroenteritis before today's game. After Choi Won-jun exited, manager Lee Seung-yeop tried to stop the KT batting lineup urgently with Kim Ho-jun and Choi Jun-ho, but both players allowed 5 runs and lost their momentum.

On the 26th and 27th, Doosan will also feature the unpredictable Choi Seung-yong and Kim Yoo-seong as starters. Choi Seung-yong still lacks full-time experience, and Kim Yoo-seong is a rookie who has just passed the fifth starter competition. In fact, a game featuring the 4th and 5th starters was expected to have a similar pattern as the opening series and today's game, but even after sending out the duo of foreign aces, who are considered the strongest duo over the weekend, they suffered two consecutive losses, and the substitute for Kwak Bin collapsed after just 4 innings, causing the plans to go awry.

Can Choi Seung-yong and Kim Yoo-seong become heroes in these troubled times? Doosan now needs someone unexpected to achieve something unforeseen.

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