Hanwha Eagles foreign pitcher Ricardo Sanchez recorded his first win of the second half of the season, breaking the chain of bad luck that has plagued him since the end of the first half.
Sanchez pitched six innings of four-hit ball, allowing one run on one hit, two walks and six strikeouts in an 8-3 win over the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Wednesday.
Sanchez was efficient on the day, using his fastball topping out at 151 mph and mixing in a slider, changeup, and other pitches. Even in the sixth inning, when his pitch count exceeded 90, he was able to keep his fastball in the low 140s to keep batters off balance.
After giving up a solo home run to leadoff hitter Yang Seok-hwan in the top of the third, Han gave up back-to-back singles to Kim Jae-hwan and Kim Min-hyuk to put runners on first and second, but he quickly settled down by striking out Park Jun-young and getting Park Yoo-yeon and Heo Kyung-min to ground out to the infield.
He then gave up a sacrifice fly to Rojas with runners on first and third in the third inning and Park Kye-beom with runners on first and third in the fifth inning, but his aggressive pitching quickly got him out of the jam. He stayed on the mound until the sixth inning to secure his sixth win of the season with the help of his bats.
“I put in a lot of work to help the team win, and it feels even better to get a win after a long time,” Sanchez said after the game. “I haven’t gotten a win in the last few games, but I tried to stay focused and I knew it could happen over the course of the season.”
After making his KBO debut in a Hanwha uniform on May 11, Sanchez was outstanding through June, going 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA in eight games. For Hanwha, which has seen little success from foreign pitchers in recent years, it was a welcome respite from the drought.
However, after earning his fifth win of the season with a six-inning, one-run shutout against the Samsung Lions on July 1, he struggled as his pitching habits were exposed. From July 8 against the SSG Landers to July 8 against the KT Wiz, he went five games without a win, losing four with a 6.92 ERA. His pitching during this period wasn’t all bad, as he had two quality starts and one quality+ start, but he had a lot of ups and downs.
Sanchez said he was surprised by the analytical power of the KBO, but added, “I wish they would talk more about my pitching habits out in the open. It’s better for me if opposing hitters focus on that than me. “It’s good for me that they focus on that instead of me.
“It doesn’t bother me at all (to have my pitching habits discussed). I respect every team, every league, and I always try to stay humble and learn,” he said, emphasizing that “it’s just something I can get better at and overcome.”토토사이트
Sanchez has only one goal. With Hanwha still in the hunt for a postseason berth, he’s determined to bring the team as many wins as possible in the second half of the season.
“I’m going to do everything I can, everything I can control, to make sure that Hanwha makes it to fall baseball,” Sanchez said. “I can confidently say that no one on this team thinks we’re not going to make it to the postseason. “I can say with confidence that no one on our team thinks we won’t make it.” “We’re all fighting to the best of our ability on the baseball field.