Two innings of KKK perfect humiliation even for NPB pitchers who failed in ML, "Was it like a baseball Korea in South Korea?" No. 2 in the Cy Young Award was "8K scoreless." Of course

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean national baseball team, led by coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55), realized the gap with the world's best baseball. In particular, Christopher Sanchez (30, Philadelphia Phillies), a starting pitcher, proved why he is one of the best pitchers in the Major League (ML).

South Korea lost 0-10 to the Dominican Republic in the second round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 14th (Korea time).

It was a game where I realized the level difference. The batting lineup, which scored 10 points with only 9 hits, was also great, but the mound, which tied the Korean batting line, which is competitive in its own way with only two pitchers, was impressive.

Sanchez, the Dominican starting pitcher, overwhelmed the Korean batters with two hits, one walk and eight strikeouts in five innings. Sanchez's main weapon is a high-speed sinker with a maximum speed of 99 miles per hour (about 159.3 kilometers) and an average speed of 95.4 miles (about 153.5 kilometers), ranking second in the National League Cy Young Award last year.

It was an unprecedented achievement. Sanchez threw a total of 63 pitches, including 40 sinkers, 12 sliders and 11 change-ups, drawing as many as 18 swings and misses. It was close to perfection in all aspects of ball control and control. Korean hitters couldn't even respond properly to the pitch from the high-speed sinker with an average speed of 95.2 miles per hour (about 153.2 kilometers). Kim Do-young in the first inning and Moon Bo-kyung in the second inning all made ground balls even though the ball came in the middle.

The exact control that came in like an awl in every corner of the body was more surprising. Lee Jung-hoo, who was also recognized for his contact ability in the Major League, had no choice but to strike out on a low ball.

It was hard to say that there was even a mistrial by the referee. Dan Iasona, the referee of the day, helped the stable flow of the game by accurately picking up the balls that crossed the strike zone boundary.

Sanchez also showed a loophole in the fourth inning when Dominica was already leading 7-0. He threw a sinker in the middle to leadoff hitter Germai Jones and got his first hit. For South Korea, it was regrettable that Lee Jung-hoo's ball aimed at the first pitch was double-jabbed. On the broadcast screen, Lee Jung-hoo's foot seemed to have reached first base first. However, I could not overturn the video review because I had already used it.

It was even more regrettable that a proper hit came out later. Ahn Hyun-min targeted Sanchez's sinker in the middle and sent it wide into the right-center outfield. It was the only long shot produced by South Korea on the day. However, the meaning of this was tarnished when Moon Bo-kyung struck out swinging after a full count.

Albert Abreu (31, Chunichi Dragons), who took the mound afterwards, also showed a better performance. Abreu is a pitcher who made his debut in 2020 with the New York Yankees and has not made much of a mark in the major leagues. Abreu's overall record in the big leagues was 4.58 ERA in 108 games in four seasons and 4.66 ERA in 34 games in Triple-A.

In 2024, he played as the closing pitcher for the NPB Seibu Lions. Last year, he tried again in the big league with the Cincinnati Reds, but failed in the end and was re-employed by NPB again this year. But it was like a big wall against Korea.

Abreu also threw a total of 24 pitches, including 13 sinkers, six cutters, three changeups and two four-seam fastballs, and pitched perfect pitching with only three strikeouts in two innings. With an average high-speed sinker of 97.3 miles per hour (about 156.6 kilometers), Korean hitters couldn't even send balls to the outfield.

On the other hand, the South Korean mound was repeatedly beaten. Starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (39) collapsed with three hits, two walks, one strikeout and three runs in one ⅔ inning. Ryu Noh Kyung-eun (43), who came up in a hurry, failed to stop one inning with two hits, no outs, and two runs in the first ⅓.

It was also hard to blame veterans who were long past their prime. Park Young-hyun (23) gave up two runs with two hits and no outs in ⅓ innings, and Kwak Bin (27) was not good with three walks and one strikeout in ⅓ innings.

With the victory already over, Dane Dunning, Ko Young-pyo, Cho Byung-hyun and Ko Woo-seok pitched scoreless. However, when Soh Hyung-joon finally hit a good-bye three-run home run, South Korea withdrew from the WBC.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.