SEOUL– Through two games of the Korean Series, designated hitter Jose Miguel Fernandez has been the one-man wrecking crew for the Doosan Bears, the only dangerous bat in an otherwise feeble lineup.
The Cuban hitting machine is batting 5-for-8 with two doubles and has not struck out. But he’s been getting little help from his teammates. Namely, Park Kun-woo and Yang Suk-hwan, who have hit behind Fernandez, are a combined 0-for-14 with nine strikeouts.
Their hitting woes are a part of why the Bears find themselves down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
On Wednesday, prior to Game 3 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Fernandez shrugged off his teammates’ woes as being part of baseball.
“There have been times when I hit well and my teammates struggled, or vice versa. But that’s baseball,” Fernandez said through an interpreter. “I don’t necessarily think those guys are playing poorly. It’s just that we haven’t had the results we wanted. I think we’re all going to turn things around tonight.”
As much as Doosan hitters have struggled, the Wiz’s starting pitching deserves credit, too. William Cuevas threw 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Game 1, and then So Hyeong-jun tossed six shutout innings in Game 2 while getting some help from his defense.
Catcher Jang Sung-woo said Wednesday he’d like to think he’s at least partially responsible for his starters’ success so far.
“I think it goes both ways. Great pitchers make great catchers, but without great catchers there won’t be great pitchers,” Jang said. “I appreciate their work so far. I think the guys are more relaxed this year because we already played some tough games down the stretch in the regular season.”
Jang noted that Cuevas, now in his third season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), has begun to trust his breaking balls more than in the past. So Hyeong-jun, despite being only 20, doesn’t easily get rattled, Jang said.
But the catcher said Odrisamer Despaigne, who will start Wednesday’s Game 3, has to keep his emotions in check to perform to his full capabilities.
“I think he tends to get a bit more nervous than Cuevas,” Jang said. “He has great stuff, but sometimes he can get carried away on the mound. If he can control that, he will be just fine.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency
