"Former Hanwha" Sanchez's bases-loaded crisis was deleted → Command tower praised! "Perfect pitch, got off early for the final"

*This content was translated by AI.

Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez (29, Algodoneros de Union Laguna, Mexico), who is familiar to domestic baseball fans, stood tall as a "special firefighter" by saving Venezuela from danger in the semifinals of the 2026 WBC (World Baseball Classic), the world's best national competition.

Sanchez took the mound as Venezuela's second pitcher in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) semifinals against Italy at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 17th (Korea Standard Time), showing a perfect pitch with no hit, one walk and no run in one ⅔.

On this day, Venezuela faced the worst scenario of starter Kader Montero's poor control in the early stages of the second inning with one out and a full base. The economic trend could have been completely transferred to Italy. Here, Venezuelan coach Omar Lopez's choice was Sanchez.

Sanchez lived up to expectations perfectly. He led the first batter, Dante Nori, to a groundout to the second base and traded the score for the out count, and even the subsequent batter was hit, ending the inning without additional runs. It was the moment when his unique aggressive pitching shone. In the end, Sanchez, who was replaced in an 0-2 situation, contributed to a 4-2 come-from-behind victory.

After the game, Lopez explained in detail the timing of Sanchez's replacement, expressing strong trust. "Sanchez was perfect today," Lopez said. His pitching on the mound was a great help to the team."

He also revealed the reason why he replaced it in one ⅔ inning. Lopez said, "We decided to replace Sanchez when the number of pitches reached 23. "If we exceed 30 pitches, we cannot take the mound in tomorrow's final due to the tournament regulations," he said. "We need Sanchez in the final as well. To save him, he added, "I told him that today's mission is over."

Although Sanchez showed a willingness to throw more, it is believed that the bench chose to take him off the mound in consideration of both "data" and "resources available for the final."

Sanchez made a strong impression on domestic fans by playing in Hanwha in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He left Korea after giving way to Ryan Weiss (30, Houston Astros) in the aftermath of his injury in the 2024 season, but he made a strong impression by showing excellent pitching for the national team.

Sanchez, who completely performed his role as the second pitcher in the semifinals after the group qualifying match against Israel (one run in two innings in relief) on the 8th, has now been selected as a "final waiting card" for Venezuela's first-ever WBC victory. Fans are paying attention to whether they will be able to see a pitcher from the KBO League take the mound in the world's most prestigious tournament final.

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*This content was translated by AI.