Doosan earned a 1-1 draw against Seibu in the Nippon Professional Baseball. The Bears threatened to lose the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, but “express rookie” Kim Taek-yeon struck out two with a fastball that reached a maximum speed of 151 kilometers to preserve the draw.
The Doosan Bears played to a 4-4 draw against the Seibu Lions of the Miyazaki Youth League at the Sanmarin Stadium in Miyazaki, Japan, on July 27. With the win, Doosan improved to 1-1-1 in the tournament.
Doosan started the game with the following batting order: Jeong Soo-bin (center field), Heo Kyung-min (third base), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Henry Ramos (right field), Yang Ji (designated hitter), Kim In-tae (left field), Kang Seung-ho (second base), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher), Park Jun-young (shortstop), and starter Brandon Waddell.
Doosan opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when Ramos and Kim In-tae drew back-to-back walks, allowing Kang Seung-ho to score the go-ahead run with a double to right field. Park Jun-young then blasted a two-run double to center field to give Doosan a 3-0 lead. With the score tied at 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning, Kim Dae-rae led off with an infield single to third base and Ramos followed with an infield single to second base to bring home Kim Dae-rae and give Doosan a 4-3 lead. Doosan scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4, but neither team could score any more runs and the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
Doosan starter Brandon allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits with two walks and one strikeout in two innings, with his fastball reaching 147 mph. Following Brandon, Kim Min-kyu pitched one inning of one-hit ball with two strikeouts, Kim Ho-joon pitched one inning of one-hit ball with two strikeouts, Choi Joon-ho pitched one inning of one-hit ball with one strikeout, Baek Seung-woo pitched one inning of one-hit ball with one strikeout, Choi Jae-in pitched one inning of one-hit ball with one strikeout, and Park Jung-soo pitched one inning of one-hit ball with one strikeout.
Special rookie Kim Taek-yeon, who pitched the final nine innings, gave up one hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning. He was in danger of taking the loss, but kept his composure. He threw 20 pitches. His fastball was up to 151 kilometers. His fastball was 144 mph, which isn’t bad.
Kim Taek-yeon was the last pitcher to pitch in the ninth inning of an exhibition game against the SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball’s second team on April 24, and he pitched a scoreless inning with no hits and three strikeouts. Although the score was 9-1 and the opponents were Nippon Professional Baseball’s second team, it showed the guts of the 19-year-old rookie.
“It was my first practice game in a Doosan uniform,” Kim said at the time. I didn’t try to do too well, I just focused on continuing what I’ve been doing, and I think it led to a good result.” “I was curious to see if my pitches would work, so I pitched mostly fastballs, and I’m happy with the result. It was my first unofficial game, so I don’t think I need to get too excited. I want to prepare as well as I have been doing so far and show a good performance from the start of the season,” he said.