U.S.-born pitcher Ryan Sadowski of the Lotte Giants, competing in the playoffs of the Korea Baseball Organization, says he is focused on the present and has put some bad history between his team and the Doosan Bears, Lotte’s current playoff opponents this fall, behind him.

Competing in his third KBO postseason, the right-hander is slated to start the third game of the best-of-five first round series on Thursday.

Before the series opener, Sadowski said he was looking forward to pitching in his third straight KBO postseason.

“It’s always fun to play in the playoffs,” he said. “We feel good, and I feel good.”

Sadowski’s state of emotional and physical health is important for the Giants. In his three KBO seasons, the 30-year-old native of Miami has won 29 games and has been one of the most consistent pitchers for a team that, until this season, has long been known to rely on explosive offense to bail out mediocre pitching.

On Sept. 27, Sadowski took a line drive to his pitching hand and had to leave the game in the fourth inning. He pitched a scoreless inning in the regular season finale last Saturday against the SK Wyverns, and said his hand is “all healed now.”

“There’s no structural damage,” the right-hander said. “It was really black and blue and really sore.”

The Giants are playing in their fifth straight postseason, and Sadowski has been involved in the past two. The Giants made quick exits in those two years, though Sadowski was hardly to blame.

In 2010, he appeared in two games for the Giants in the first round against the Bears, but had no wins or losses, putting up an ERA of 2.16 in 8 1/3 innings and nine strikeouts.

The following year, with Lotte earning a bye to the second round as the No. 2 seed, he lost the one game he started, despite giving up just one run in 5 2/3 innings while striking out five.

In 2010, the Giants were knocked out by the Bears, losing the final three games of the series after winning the first two.

Looking back on that series, Sadowski said he and his teammates have taken their lessons and moved on. “It’s definitely in the past, but it’s a reminder,” Sadowski said. “It’s a motivator.” (Yonhap News)