"Shock cold defeat" → Oh Seung-hwan's "Only until this time when I lost well," and Jung Min-cheol also said, "We need to find a pitcher we can trust and leave." [WBC]

*This content was translated by AI.

0-10 Cold Game Defeat. The world's strongest batters were expected to suffer against the Dominican Republic, but they did not expect to reduce such a wide gap. He fought so well and touched me, but the last result left a bitter aftertaste.

The Korean baseball team suffered a 0-10 cold game loss 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).

He impressed baseball fans by advancing to the quarterfinals through the extreme number of cases in the group stage, but from the first game of the second round, he met a too strong opponent and collapsed without using any strength.

First of all, the opponent's lineup was too strong. There were many hitters who experienced more than 20 home runs in a single season in the Major League Baseball, and as expected, they showed overwhelming firepower compared to competitors with strong power such as the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico with 13 home runs and 41 points in the group stage.

Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), who has 74 wins in the MLB, started the game and impressed with his elaborate control that penetrated inside and outside the borderline from the 1st inning, but Dominican batters followed it to the end, not a swing and miss, and eventually made a hit. In the end, he failed to finish the second inning and handed the ball over to Noh Kyung-eun (SSG), and took a breather by striking out Ketel Marte with a swing and miss.

However, he allowed a hit in the third inning in a row and handed the ball over to Park Young-hyun (KT), but he got consecutive hits again and the number of runs increased. After striking out, he handed the ball over to Kwak Bin (Doosan) with one out and runners on the first and second bases, which was the most disappointing part of the day.

Dominican batters, who were timing Korean pitchers' breaking balls, rarely timed themselves to 97.5 miles (156.9 kilometers) per hour. Agustin Ramirez was struck out swinging, drawing admiration.

However, Gerardo Perdomo threw two balls that were far out of the zone with a ball count of 2-2, allowing a walk, causing a full base crisis, and Fernando Tatis Jr. gave up a straight walk to increase the number of runs.

Marte made a ball count of 0-2 with a fast ball, but after that, he only played a game that was avoided, and eventually made another walk. The result was a replacement of pitchers. Dane Dunning (Seattle) took the mound and ended the inning.

Later, Ko Young-pyo (KT), Cho Byung-hyun (SSG), and Ko Woo-seok (Detroit) took the mound one after another and blocked one inning each, but in the bottom of the seventh inning, Soh Hyung-joon allowed a straight walk after a hit by Manny Machado with one out, and later a three-run home run by Austin Wells with two outs, and the game ended in a cold game defeat.

Jung Min-cheol and Oh Seung-hwan, the legendary pitchers who held the microphone as MBC commentators, felt sorry.

Commentator Jung Min-cheol said, "After being pushed back in the beginning, he showed some competitive performance. I hope it wasn't a cold loss, but it's a shame." Commentator Oh Seung-hwan also said, "I thought the Korean national team's offense level has risen a lot during the group stage, but I think I found my homework when I met Sanchez. You can fill in the gaps in the future. Regardless of the result, I hope it's a game where you get a lot of things."

As a former pitcher, I couldn't help but point out what I was disappointed about. He was the main player of the 2006 semifinal and 2009 runner-up myth, saying, "On the pitcher's side, it was regrettable that he allowed a walk even before testing his ball. "I can only fill the gaps based on the results, but I'm sorry I couldn't even fill them," he said. "It will certainly be an opportunity for the players to develop one more time." I lost this tournament, but I fought well, and I can say 'lost well,' but I won't lose well from the next tournament. If you fight, you have to win," he pointed out.

Jung Min-chul, a member of the committee, said, "I wanted to applaud him for being able to play in Miami, and I confirmed that we need to find a pitcher who can leave one game to him and a finish that can be watched with confidence. There was Cho Byung-hyun, but I felt that I needed a more certain pitcher."

Oh Seung-hwan also said, "In a short-term game, a pitcher who can prevent one game is really important. The more, the better. If we build a competitive team, we can become a team that can look further up on the world stage," he stressed.

Just feeling the gap with world-class players in the second round of the WBC for the first time in 17 years can be a big income. "It was a pitching and hitting season in 2025, but they must have felt a lot of frustration coming to the world stage," Jung Min-chul, a member of the committee, said to the pitchers, adding, "I hope we can turn that frustration into an exclamation mark on the next stage." I have no choice but to repeat. So I want him to pitch world-class," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.