“Last night (19th), the children watched the team lose in a row through a relay broadcast. I said, ‘Dad can throw well and win’, and it seems to have worked out well.”
Raul Alcantara (31, Doosan Bears) is entering his third season in the KBO League. He is still doing his part as the team’s first starter and ace.
Alcantara started in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ against kt Wiz held at Suwon kt Wiz Park on the 20th. On this day, Alcantara stood on the mound with a heavy task. He was to serve as the losing streak stopper who had to break the team’s two-game losing streak. Along with this, the starting pitcher in the last 3 games failed to fill 5 innings and was knocked out early, so he stood on the mound with the goal of minimizing bullpen consumption while drawing long innings.
At the beginning of the game, Alcantara was a bit shaky. He gave up two walks and became 1st and 2nd base with 2 outs, but he caught the follow-up hitter Jang Seong-woo with a floating ball in right field and did not concede. After that, a perfect pitch followed. Except for Park Gye-beom’s catch error at the bottom of the 4th inning, not a single runner was sent out until after one out in the bottom of the 8th inning.
After one out in the bottom of the 8th inning, Lee Ho-yeon got a heavy hit and the no-hit and no-run broke, but he finished the inning by handling the follow-up batters neatly. His final performance was 8 innings, throwing 95 balls, 1 hit, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and no run, blocking the opponent’s batting line. The team also won 6-0, and Alcantara finished the ninth mound of the season with a feeling of winning five wins of the season.
Alcantara, who met after the game, said, “I couldn’t help but be conscious of (the record) after playing a long inning no-hit game. I had the mindset to finish well until the end, and thanks to that, I think I finished it to the end.” It’s been a long time, and it hasn’t been long since (started). I think it’s good to be healthier for a long time, so I don’t think I’ve (challenged shutout).”
He added, “This game is the longest no-hit record. Of course, a no-hit and no-run is a record I want to achieve, so I feel more regretful about the bottom of the 8th inning.”
Alcantara has already played two seasons in the KBO League. He recorded 11 wins and 11 losses with kt in the 2019 season and 20 wins and 2 losses with Doosan in 2020, rising to the ranks of aces. In particular, in the 2020 season, he won the most wins and completed a memorable season.
This season, he won 4 wins, the most among team starting pitchers. Before the match, Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop said, “Today (the 20th) is an important game. Although it is a weekend game, Alcantara, the first starter, will play. We have to break the losing streak that we had with Kiwoom from the last match to yesterday. We have to do it,” showing expectations for Alcantara.
Regarding his expectations for himself, Alcantara said, “The mindset is the same. I came with the mindset of winning. I am grateful that the coach gave me such a word. It seems to give me faith. I saw it. I said, ‘Dad can throw well and win’.카지노사이트
Finally, Alcantara said, “(Recently) I was aware that the loss of pitchers in the bullpen was high. My plan is to always stay on the mound for a long time. I pitched with that mindset, and fortunately, I got good results, so I think I saved my bullpen pitchers.” He seemed to be smiling.