The sample of "How Did You Stop It," WBC's drop O'Brien, "Three hits in one inning, two strikeouts and no runs"... A.C.E in STL

*This content was translated by AI.

If he had appeared at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, wouldn't he have lost to the Dominican Republic in vain. Riley O'Brien (31, St. Louis Cardinals) continued his stable performance as if he could relieve his sadness of failing to play in the WBC.

O'Brien took the mound as the team's second pitcher in the top of the fifth inning of the 2026 MLB exhibition game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Florida on the 20th (Korea time) and recorded three hits and two strikeouts in one inning.

O'Brien, who was named in the final list of WBC but dropped out due to a sudden injury, continued to pitch well as if he was trying to shake off his sadness.

O'Brien, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 229th pick in the eighth round in the 2017 draft, played only 10 games until 2024, but played 42 games and 48 innings last year, flying far higher with 3-1-1, 6 saves and 6 holds and 2.06 ERA. At the end of the season, he became the starting pitcher of St. Louis.

O'Brien, a Korean-born player born to an American father and a Korean mother and whose Korean name is Jun-young, consulted with coach Ryu Ji-hyun and KBO early on on about consensus on participating in the tournament.

However, he hurt his calf just before the competition and it was not a major injury, but national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun boldly excluded him, saying it would be difficult to raise his condition to 100 percent in time for the opening game of the WBC.

It seemed like the right choice. He finished the first game with one perfect pitch in one inning and one walk, but in the game against the New York Mets on the 11th, he collapsed in vain with four walks without giving up a hit in ⅔ innings.

O'Brien later woke up and pitched three consecutive scoreless games until this day. However, the process was not perfect.

O'Brien, who struck out swinging with a 6-pitch 98.3 mph (158.2 km) sinker after a count fight against James Wood, the first batter, led 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning, threw a low slider out of the zone with the first pitch, but Nasin Nuez cleverly cleared it to escape the crisis.

After allowing Nuez to steal second base, O'Brien then gave up a hit to Jacob Young. The first pitch was low on the body and the second pitch was low, but Young made a hit once again with a technical hit like Nuez.

However, luckily, he increased the outcount by catching a runner digging into the home, and also ended the day's pitch with a swing and miss strikeout at 2-2 in the match against Dylan Lyle.

It never collapsed in the midst of anxiety with three consecutive hits. As a result, domestic baseball fans stop it well, but the process is unstable when they see a pitcher who is jokingly saying, "What did you do to prevent it?" and it was a pitch that fits exactly that expression.

O'Brien pitched four ⅔ innings in five games, recording four hits and five walks with a 1.93 ERA and three holds, raising expectations for his performance in the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.