A successful debut after twists and turns. Mario Sanchez (29-KIA) made a successful soft landing.
The right-hander started against KT in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on 9 September. He pitched 6⅓ innings of five-hit ball (one home run) with 10 strikeouts and one run allowed in a quality start (six or more innings pitched and no more than three earned runs). He led his team to a 5-1 victory, picking up his first win in his debut. Kia ran its winning streak to five games with the series sweep.
Sanchez joined the Kia as a replacement for Adonis Medina. He arrived on the 5th, underwent a medical and signed the contract on the 6th. He will earn $280,000 per year. The Kia team was impressed with Sanchez’s reliability, game management, and variety of pitches. 오래된토토사이트
His first start was a success. Sanchez threw 88 pitches on the day (62 for strikes). He used a mix of four-seam fastballs (43), sliders (20), cutters (12), curves (6), changeups (5), and two-seam fastballs (2). His four-seam topped out at 147 mph and his two-seam at 146 mph.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. He was called out twice. Before he pitched in the bottom of the fourth inning, the umpires spoke with Sanchez, KIA manager Kim Jong-guk and pitching coach Seo Jae-eung for a while.
The Kia team explained that Sanchez should raise his left leg consistently when he pitches, but depending on the situation, he could be seen raising his leg once more. Coach Seo mentioned Sean Nolin’s case last year, but he said, ‘According to the rules, you can’t double-kick. If you do it one more time, we’ll call it a ball,'” he said.
Sanchez gave up a double to Hwang Jae-gyun with two outs in the fourth inning. He followed that up with a six-pitch walk to Park Byung-ho.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol came out to the field during Hwang’s at-bat. He appealed for Sanchez to get into a set position by turning towards first base as if he was going to throw a strike. Sanchez then threw a wild pitch to first base, tying up the runner, Kim Sang-soo. A scoreless sixth inning followed.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Sanchez came off the mound with the bases loaded and the KIA fans stood and chanted his name. Sanchez took off his hat to respond. It was a happy ending.