"Oh, if you went out on WBC." SSG White KKKKKK → Hanwha nuclear strike... Owen White also pitched four ⅔ innings, allowing one run [KBO Exhibition Game Review]

*This content was translated by AI.

On the day the baseball team injured its big nose against the Dominican Republic's dynamite lineup at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Korean pitcher Mitch White (32, SSG Landers) showed brilliant pitching.

White started the 2026 KBO exhibition game against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 14th and pitched 73 pitches in four ⅔ innings, allowing three hits and eight strikeouts.

Born to a second-generation immigrant mother and an American father, he increased his chances of playing in the WBC, but he eventually failed to join, but he gradually improved his condition and pitched perfectly from the first exhibition game.

White, who played in the Major League for five seasons, was active in SSG uniforms last year with 11 wins and 4 losses and 2.87 ERA.

The problem was physical condition. He played 134 ⅔ innings in 24 games due to injury. He completed the contract for a total of up to $1.2 million (about 1.8 billion won) and expressed his willingness to prepare for the season in perfect physical condition.

White was also a necessary resource for the WBC national team, but he was somewhat passive compared to other Korean players who actively expressed their intention to participate in the WBC, and Ryu Ji-hyun eventually excluded White from the final list.

An SSG official also explained, "White had an injury last year and didn't finish the season in perfect form, but he seems to be cautious about joining the WBC before the season."

It was a disappointing result for the national team, but White, who was able to build up his body according to his plan, completely improved his condition.

In a practice game in the spring camp, White allowed 11 hits and 3 runs in two games and four innings at the time, but he already showed off his perfect physical condition by spraying a fastball with a maximum speed of 154 kilometers per hour and striking out seven.

On this day, White overwhelmed Hanwha's batting lineup even though he pitched aggressively enough to hit 55 pitches, or 75% of the 73 pitches, with strikes. The maximum speed was 155 kilometers per hour, and the average speed of the fastball reached 150 kilometers.

He overwhelmed Hanwha's batters by mixing curve (17 pitches), cutter (12 pitches), change-up (8 pitches), and sweeper (6 pitches).

White struck out Oh Jae-won by throwing only five consecutive fastball in the bottom of the first inning, and threw a fastball, changeup, and curve to Jonathan Ferraza, striking out three pitches. White, who caught Kang Baek-ho with a fly ball to left field, finished the first inning in nine pitches.

White, who took the mound with Lee Seung-min's RBI timely hit on his back in the top of the second inning, struck out Lee Do-yoon after catching Chae Eun-sung and Ha Joo-seok with infield ground balls, but he was struck out and continued the inning. He played a nine-pitch game with Lee Won-seok, but eventually struck out once again and took a breather.

After giving up an infield hit to Oh Jae-won with two outs in the third inning, Peraza also got a hit to the right, but with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, he struck out with a falling curve to erase the crisis.

White, who finished with three strikeouts in the fourth inning, also took the mound in the fifth inning and struck out Lee Won-seok and Heo In-seo in succession, and after being hit by Shim Woo-joon, handed the ball over to Lee Ki-soon and withdrew.

After White stepped down, he gave up a solo shot to Peraza in the sixth inning to allow a 1-1 tie, but Ko Myung-joon, who was the leadoff hitter in the top of the ninth inning, hit a final solo shot over the left-center fence against Joo Hyun-sang to secure a 2-1 victory.

Park Si-hoo and Jung Dong-yoon, who took the mound from the eighth inning, saved one inning without losing a point, and harvested wins and saves, respectively.

In the lineup, Ko Myung-joon, the fourth designated hitter, hit three hits and one RBI in four at-bats, including a home run, and Oh Tae-gon, the fifth batter and first baseman, also hit two hits.

Coincidentally, Hanwha's starting player was (Owen) White. In four ⅔ innings, he threw 73 pitches, allowing four hits, seven strikeouts, and one run, but lost to SSG White.

In Hanwha, rookie Oh Jae-won played as the first batter center fielder and reported a hit, and Peraza worked hard with two hits in three at-bats. Kang Baek-ho, who joined the team by signing a four-year, 10 billion won contract as a free agent (FA), had hits in both of the previous games, but he left a regret with no hits and one strikeout in three at-bats. Son Ah-seop, who played as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, also ended up hitting a fly ball to second base.

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*This content was translated by AI.