'You took a break for an hour and a half, and you're pitching again?' Hanwha's White shows incredible fighting spirit, 'completing the QS'

*This content was translated by AI.

Hanwha Eagles' foreign pitcher White (27) displayed incredible fighting spirit by returning to the mound after being forced to rest for over an hour and a half due to rain.

White started the game against Doosan Bears at Seoul Jamsil Stadium on the 4th. In the bottom of the first inning, with Park Chan-ho hitting a ground ball, second baseman Hwang Young-mok committed a fielding error on the play and also threw a wild pitch on a pickoff attempt, putting the bases loaded with two outs. However, White struck out Cameron to end the inning without allowing a run.

As the rain intensified, the umpires suspended the game shortly after the bottom of the first inning ended at around 6:45 p.m., resuming it 19 minutes later. In the bottom of the second inning, with one out, White allowed a solo home run to the left field by Yang Eui-ji, the first run of the game. On a 1-1 count, Yang hit a high fastball clocked at 148 km/h on the third pitch. He then gave up a double to Ahn Jae-seok and a triple to the gap in left-center field to Oh Myung-jin, falling behind 0-2.

The game was suspended again at 7:52 p.m. after Hanwha completed its offensive turn in the top of the fourth inning. Although the rain subsided about 30 minutes later, it took until 9:19 p.m., 1 hour and 27 minutes later, to resume the game as sponges were used to remove standing water from the infield and the field was repaired. Including the two suspension periods, the total time lost was 106 minutes (1 hour and 46 minutes), ranking eighth all-time in the KBO League for this category. The longest record in this category is 204 minutes (3 hours and 24 minutes) from the second game of the doubleheader between Daejeon Hanwha and KT on September 17, 2023.

Typically, it is difficult for pitchers to return to the mound and pitch after such a long break. However, White, who had rested for over an hour and a half including the time after the bottom of the third inning until the suspension, reappeared on the mound to face Doosan's offense in the bottom of the fourth inning.

He actually pitched with even more stability. After allowing a single to Oh Myung-jin to left field with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, he retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings without allowing any hits or walks, recording two strikeouts. He finished his outing with 88 pitches over 6 innings, allowing 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, and 2 earned runs, completing a Quality Start (QS).

White, who joined the KBO League stage this season, suffered a left hamstring muscle tear on March 31 in his first appearance against Daejeon KT Wiz while covering first base and catching the ball. He returned on May 16, 1 month and 15 days later, against KT, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing 2 earned runs to secure his first win. On the 29th against SSG Landers, he pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, to add another victory. His season record stands at 2 wins and 2 losses in 5 games with an ERA of 3.04.

Meanwhile, Doosan removed starting pitcher Jacklog from the mound in the top of the fifth inning and brought in Choi Jun-ho. Jacklog had thrown only 60 pitches, and with the team leading 2-0, he would have qualified for the win if he had pitched just one more inning. However, considering his long rest, the decision was made to substitute him. As a result, Doosan faced the burden of activating its bullpen early, but Choi Jun-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Park Chi-guk, and Lee Yong-chan effectively held the line over the remaining 5 innings, securing a valuable 3-1 victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.