All you need to know about how has Patrick Sandoval played in the World Baseball Classic so far for Mexico.
A rowdy World Baseball Classic clash between Team USA and Mexico was played on Sunday night at a very crowded Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The crowd was clearly rooting for Team Mexico, as seen by their enthusiastic applause and the blasting of trumpets whenever the team from south of the border scored more runs.
Phil Nevin, manager of the Angels, was present at the game as a neutral observer because he had players representing both teams, including Patrick Sandoval, who was playing for Mexico. Nevin watched the game from the stands as Mexico stunned Mike Trout and the Americans by winning 11-5.
Sandoval fought back after falling behind 3-0 and came close to earning another strikeout on ball four, which was a borderline pitch. Paul Goldschmidt, the current National League Most Valuable Player, was the next hitter that Sandoval faced, and he responded by striking him out.
It will be one of the most important games of Sandoval’s career when Mexico plays Japan in the WBC semifinals on Monday. Sandoval will get the starting nod for Mexico.
Sandoval will face a formidable Japanese lineup throughout the spring training season, one that will include his colleague Shohei Ohtani from the Angels. Sandoval will be making his second start of the World Baseball Classic; in his first appearance, he faced Team USA and pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out two batters. If Mexico is able to advance to the championship game, they will play Team USA in the championship game.
The southpaw also got into two Cactus League games with the Angels before to the WBC, allowing one run on three hits and earning a 6:0 K:BB over five frames.
Patrick Sandoval, a pitcher for the Angels, did not get off to a good start in his career in the major leagues. In 2019, he played a total of 10 games and had a record of 0-4 with a 5.03 earned run average (nine starts). The left-handed pitcher did not fare any better in the abbreviated 2020 season, as he posted a record of 1-5 with an earned run average of 5.65.
Yet, after that point, things began to take a positive turn. Sandoval’s earned run average (ERA) dropped to 3.62 in 2021, and a significant contributor to his success was his ability to keep the ball within the confines of the ballpark. Between 2019 and 2020, he allowed home runs to 4.9% of batters he faced; however, in 2021, he lowered that percentage to 3.0%. Surprisingly, he decreased it even further in 2022, bringing it down to only 1.3% over the course of 148.2 innings. The overall result for the previous season was an earned run average of 2.91.
Sandoval is one of those people that doesn’t get a lot of attention for some reason. Even though he has combined for a 132 ERA+ over the course of the last two seasons, which is 32% better than the average for the league, his win-loss record is only 9-15. Perhaps this is why. It should come as no surprise that the fact that the Halos have spent each October of his career on the outside looking in has not been helpful. Nonetheless, Sandoval has developed into a truly strong pitcher with the Angels, who play approximately 30 kilometres (20 miles) to the north of his hometown of Mission Viejo.
The year 2023 may be the one in which Sandoval’s name is finally recognised by the general public, provided that he is able to repeat the late-season heroics he shown the previous year.
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