RSS Feed

Tech Support

Raul Alcantara (30, Doosan Bears) started against the Lotte Giants in Busan on the 4th and scored four runs in seven innings and recorded his sixth loss (11 wins) of the season. The batters scored the first run in the first inning, but it was the result of four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

The defeat made it somewhat difficult to reproduce the glory of three years ago. At the time of 2020, Alcantara won the multiple wins and the winning percentage with 20 wins and 2 losses. In the game where he took the mound, Doosan ran 24 wins, 6 losses, and 1 draw (80% winning rate). It was literally a symbol of victory.


This year is a little different. In the game where he took the mound, Doosan's winning rate is only 56% (14 wins and 11 losses). He quickly achieved 10 wins, including 9 wins and 3 losses in the first half, but has only won 1 win and 2 losses in six games since August.

The biggest reason is that Doosan's batters fell short of 2020. On top of that, Alcantara's individual performance slowed down a bit. Since the LG Twins match on July 28, he has an ERA of 3.28 and the number of home runs per nine innings has been 1.16. It is still a good level, but it was weaker than before, when it hit 2.00 and 0.56, respectively. It is difficult to guarantee 20 wins as well as 15 wins during the remaining schedule.

A small individual victory cannot devalue Alcantara. He is still the top ace in the KBO league this season. The maximum 155km/h fastball is the same three years ago. The 2.37 ERA is the second overall record behind Eric Pedi (NC Dinos, 2.28).

The inning is more meaningful than the ERA. Alcantara is ranked first in this category with 159 1/3 innings as of the 4th. It is quite different from Ariel Furado (Kium, 155 and two-thirds innings), who is in second place, and there is a gap of more than 10 innings. The total number of pitches was 2,453, beating Furado (2401) and David Buchanan (Samsung Lions, 2394).

Alcantara was already a proven inning eater in 2020. Although his record of 20 wins was highlighted and buried, he played 198 2/3 innings (2nd place) and threw 3144 pitches (3rd place) in the regular season at the time. This year, he played more than six innings in 20 out of 25 games. Only two games in April were played less than five innings. For Doosan, whose players have become thinner in both the bullpen and the starting lineup, Alcantara has a lot of presence.

The same is true of Lotte match on the 4th. Doosan will play nine consecutive games, including a doubleheader, for eight days from the match against Lotte on the 3rd to the match against Samsung on the 10th, as the schedule has been reorganized due to rain. The management of the pitching staff was a headache, but thanks to Alcantara's seven innings, the bullpen exhausted only one Lee Young-ha (1 inning) and finished the game on the 4th.

Coach Lee Seung-yeop said on the 5th, "Alcantara became a losing pitcher, but he pitched very well after allowing four runs in the first inning. That's how much I could save the pitcher. Since then, I have been able to do my best in the game," he praised. As coach Lee said, the record is one loss, but hope has been added to the rest of the series. Thanks to Inning Eater Ace.