I did my part’… Alcantara, ‘crisis of 9 losses in season’ even with QS

Raul Alcantara (Doosan Bears) was on the verge of losing his 9th game of the season despite playing his role as an ace. Not only was there a possibility of an individual loss, but there was also a higher possibility that Doosan, where a lot depended on one win, would finish in 5th place.

Alcantara started the match against SSG Landers in the 2023 KBO League regular season held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 16th and left the mound after allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, 1 out, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 6 innings. His earned run average rose slightly to 2.67. They maintained first place with their 22nd quality start this season (more than 6 innings and 3 earned runs or less as a starter), but the batting line failed to score a single run and was on the verge of defeat instead of victory.

Alcantara’s performance on this day was not overwhelming, but unlike the previous two games, which ended in defeat, the match continued to be stable. He previously recorded 7 runs in 6 1/3 innings against the LG Twins on the 1st, and also performed poorly against the Lotte Giants on the 7th, allowing 4 runs (3 earned runs) in 3 innings.먹튀검증

Unlike the previous two games, there were no massive goals conceded on this day. However, his failure to put out runners and overwhelm them led to little runs being lost. He allowed one run in the first inning. The problem was a double hit by lead hitter Choo Shin-soo. Alcantara hit Choo Shin-soo with a two-pitch, 152 km/h fastball into the high strike zone. SSG calmly advanced Choo Shin-soo with a sacrifice bunt and easily took the first run with Hanyu Seom’s sacrifice fly to left field.

Even though the score was conceded quickly, it did not collapse. Alcantara allowed a left-field hit to Ha Jae-hoon in the second inning, but struck out both subsequent batters to close the inning. For Kim Seong-hyeon, a slider was used, and for Oh Tae-gon, his main weapon was a forkball, leading to a missed strikeout.

Even with Alcantara’s hard work, Doosan’s batting lineup could hardly respond. Doosan had the misfortune of having Soo-bin Soo get on base with an infield single in the first inning, but Jose Rojas’ batted ball was sucked into the pitcher’s glove, resulting in a double play. Then, in the second inning, under pressure from SSG starter Roenis Elias, he struck out only two and scored no points.

While the batting line was sluggish, SSG ran away with one more point. Alcantara advanced to second base in the top of the third inning when leadoff hitter Kim Min-sik got on base with a walk and Choo Shin-soo’s advanced hit. Then, Hanyu Island’s timely hit, which had hit a sacrifice fly earlier, brought him in. Although that was the end of the goals conceded, it was not an easy score difference for the Doosan batting line, which had been silent for two days in a row after scoring two goals the previous day.

Alcantara also blocked the sixth inning. He went on the mound in the top of the 6th inning when the batting line was chasing one run and continued to allow no runs. He started by catching lead hitter Guillermo Heredia with a fly ball to right field. Alcantara gave up a walk to follow-up batter Choi Joo-hwan, and allowed a single to Kim Seong-hyeon after two outs, but succeeded in closing the sixth inning by catching both Ha Jae-hoon and Oh Tae-gon with ground balls.

He did his part, but in the end, he was unable to provide scoring support. Ultimately, in the 7th inning, when he was behind 1-2, Alcantara handed the mound over to Myung-shin Kim and ended his appearance on the mound this season.