Hanwha at Doosan
SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — The Hanwha Eagles visit the Doosan Bears on Wednesday evening at Jamsil Stadium, with both teams eyeing a potential series sweep.
Hanwha (27-26) sits one game above .500, while the Bears (26-28) are two games below the break-even mark. The Bears won Tuesday’s series opener 5-3, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Eagles. Wednesday’s game carries added weight in the tightly packed middle of the KBO standings.
Doosan is expected to start left-hander Wes Benjamin, who has been dominant in June. Benjamin earned the win Tuesday, allowing two hits and striking out nine over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. In his last three starts, Benjamin has surrendered only two earned runs in 21 1/3 innings, with 15 strikeouts and a 0.84 ERA. He has been the Bears’ most reliable arm, tossing at least six innings in four of his last five outings.
Hanwha will counter with its bullpen, relying on reliever Jeong Woo-joo. Woo-joo threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in Tuesday’s loss. However, he has been inconsistent, allowing four earned runs over 3 1/3 innings in his previous two appearances, and has yielded multiple runs in three of his last four outings.
The Eagles took three straight from the Bears in Daejeon from May 22-24, outscoring them 15-7. Overall, Hanwha has won four of the past seven meetings. The Interstat game simulator projects a 5-3 Eagles victory, with Hanwha holding a 53.00% probability to win, per the ELO system.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a temperature of 88 degrees.
The series concludes Thursday afternoon before both teams hit the road. Hanwha travels to Lotte for a weekend set, while Doosan hosts Kiwoom at Jamsil.