Doosan’s Jang Won-jun (38) is on a roll. The player who was contemplating retirement is completing his goals one by one, as if breaking a dojo. After earning his third win of the season with his first quality start since his comeback, Jang is now starting twice a week.
“There is no reason not to use a player who is in good shape,” Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop told reporters before the NC game against Changwon on the 14th, announcing that he would start against LG in Jamsil on the 18th. Jang Won-jun started the previous day against the NC and pitched a perfect game with six scoreless innings. If he starts on the 18th, it will be his first two starts in a week since 2018.
Jang earned his first win in 1844 days against Samsung Electronics on March 23, and at the time, he was viewed with skepticism. He lasted five innings, but gave up four runs on seven hits. Without the help of his offense, it was hard to see him winning.
However, Jang’s record has been improving with each game. On the 6th, he pitched 5.1 innings of one-run ball against Hanwha for his second straight win, and the day before, he pitched six innings of three-hit ball against NC for a quality start. Both the streak and the quality start are records that date back to 2018. Against NC, Jang Won-jun pitched so efficiently that he only needed 73 pitches in six innings.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop said of Jang, “The movement of his two-seam fastball is really better than before the season.”
In his prime, Jang’s main weapons were his four-seam fastball and slider. As he got older, his four-seam power diminished and he struggled. The two-seam is Jang’s new weapon of choice for survival. “It’s not easy for a pitcher who won 129 games until last year to give up what he has,” Lee said. “Seeing him make changes to survive made me think that it’s not time for him to quit yet.”스포츠토토
NC coach Kang In-hwa, who faced Jang Won-jun the day before, was also tongue-in-cheek. “When I was watching the video of the game, I saw that every ball he threw was on the borderline or hard to hit,” Kang said. “I don’t think our batters were unable to respond, but I think Jang Won-jun threw a very good ball.” Kang also praised Jang for his early-game hitting streak, saying, “He kept hitting ground balls because his pitches and changeups were hard to hit.”
If all goes according to plan, Jang will face LG on the 18th. While their hitting cycle has cooled off a bit in June, they still have the strongest lineup of the 10 teams. LG is a new challenge for Jang Won-jun.