SEOUL-- In his second start in South Korea last Thursday, Doosan Bears left-hander Brandon Waddell issued five free passes in five innings. It wasn't due to any mechanical issue, but the American pitcher just couldn't locate his pitches.

A week later in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), back at his home field at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Waddell was far more effective and aggressive. He held the Kiwoom Heroes to a run over six innings in a 10-2 rout, scattering six hits and giving up just one walk. He struck out four batters and lowered his ERA from 3.60 to 2.81.

The win ended the Bears' losing streak at three games and kept their fading playoff hopes alive.

"Today, I just wanted to be aggressive in the strike zone," Waddell told reporters afterward. "The last outing, I had a lot of walks, and that's not really me as a pitcher. So I wanted to really go after the hitters."

He offered five different pitches at Kiwoom hitters, relying most heavily on his sliders. Three of his four strikeouts came via sliders. Waddell threw 110 pitches, 65 for strikes, and touched 151 kilometers per hour with his four-seam fastball.

Waddell replaced Ariel Miranda, the reigning KBO MVP who was hobbled by shoulder issues all year. Joining an underachieving club trying to claw its way to the playoffs in the second half of the season has its challenges, but Waddell said he has embraced his experience so far on and off the field.

"I think (the quality of KBO hitters) is good. I think there's a lot of good players here. Every start, I'm going to be challenged, and I'm looking forward to that," he said. "I think it's just been fun to experience a lot of new things. Whether that's trying new food or exploring different parts of the city, things that I really enjoy. So the transition out of baseball hasn't been much different."

Waddell has so far faced three different teams in his three starts, and he called opposing hitters "scrappy."

"The biggest difference between hitters in the States and here is that hitters in the States, regardless of the count, want to hit a home run, whereas here, guys have a better approach in the sense of just trying to get a base hit," the pitcher said. "So it's just (about) not trying to do too much (as a pitcher) and just attacking straight."

And attack, he did. Waddell, in particular, neutralized the most dangerous hitter for the Heroes, and the 2021 batting champion, Lee Jung-hoo, who went 0-for-3 against the left-hander.

"When you're facing a good hitter like that, it's kind of hard to have a specific plan," Waddell said. "You've got to be able to mix pitches, and you've got to be able to mix locations, and just hope to get the best of every battle."

Source: Yonhap News Agency