KIA Tigers manager Kim Jong-kook announced the return schedule of foreign pitcher Mario Sanchez before the match against the Doosan Bears in Gwangju on the 17th. Sanchez has been focusing on rehabilitation training since he was removed from the first-tier entry on the 26th of last month due to elbow pain. Sanchez will conduct live pitching on the same day and will immediately play on the first division stage if there is no pain after pitching.
Sanchez’s return match planned by head coach Kim will be against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on the 21st. Lee Eui-ri is a starting pitcher, and Lee Eui-ri is also in need of management in the aftermath of the recent blisters, so he is trying to play a 1+1 strategy to put Sanchez behind him.
Coach Kim said, “I think Sanchez’s actual appearance will be on Thursday next week. He will take the mound in the first team, not in the second team. It’s not a starting pitcher, but I’m going to play against Hanwha in Daejeon on Thursday, and I’m going to try to split the ball between Loyalty and Sanchez. “It’s not easy to pitch with a lot of loyalty,” he explained. 스포츠토토
“The same goes for Sanchez. He tries to manage (two pitchers) according to the number of pitches. Sanchez has to think about 50 to 60 pitches, about three innings. He added, “First of all, there should be no pain during live pitching to go to such a schedule.”
KIA suffered from Sanchez’s departure at the most important point for the fifth-round fight. Although Thomas Panoni did a great job as an ace, Sanchez’s return was desperately needed as Lee Eui-ri joined the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games national team soon. Sanchez has created a physical condition that can return at the end of this month as planned, and if the player no longer feels pain, KIA is expected to be able to focus more on solidifying the semifinals.
As of the 17th, KIA is in fourth place with 60 wins, 55 losses, and 2 draws. It had recently fallen to fifth place after losing three consecutive games, but fell to fifth place with Doosan as SSG Landers added one loss while KIA took a day off due to rain on the 16th.
KIA must catch fifth-place Doosan on the day to maintain fourth place. Both SSG and Doosan are behind KIA in the winning rate without a difference in the game, so if they give up the game, the internal injury will be great.
KIA made a starting lineup with Kim Do-young (shortstop), Choi Won-joon (right fielder), Na Sung-bum (designated hitter), Choi Hyung-woo (left fielder), Socrates Brito (center fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Hwang Dae-in (first baseman), Byun Woo-hyuk (third baseman) and Han Jun-su. The starting pitcher is Panoni.