[breaking news] Crazy! Hanwha's Ponce Perfect March 'Breaked in the 4th inning' but only one hit, KKKK monster throw 'ERA finally enters the 0-point range'

*This content was translated by AI.

The ability to dominate the KBO league seems to work on the U.S. stage. KBO League MVP Cody Ponce (32, Toronto Blue Jays), a former Hanwha Eagles player, pitched the best in this year's exhibition game.

Ponce started the 2026 Major League Baseball exhibition game (home) against the New York Yankees at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida on the 20th (Korea time) and pitched a perfect pitch of one hit, five strikeouts and no runs in five ⅔ innings. The total number of pitches is 65. Of those, 44 were strikes.

Ponce took the mound in five exhibition games this year and lowered his ERA to 0.66 with seven hits, four walks, 12 strikeouts and one run (one earned run) in 13 ⅔ innings.

Toronto made up the starting lineup in the order of George Springer (designated hitter), Dalton Basho (center fielder), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first baseman), Addison Barger (right fielder), Alejandro Kirk (catcher), Jesus Sanchez (left fielder), Okamoto Kazuma (third baseman), Ernie Clement (second baseman), and Andres Jimenez (striker). The starting pitcher is Cody Ponce.

The Yankees took advantage of the split squad. Accordingly, the starting lineup was made in the order of Ahmed Rosario (third baseman), J.C. Escara (catcher), Randall Grichuk (left fielder), Seth Brown (first baseman), Paul Deyong (striker), Jankiel Fernandez (right fielder), Max Schumann (second baseman), Kenny Corona (center fielder), and Enmanuel Teheda (designated hitter). The starting pitcher was left-hander Ryan Weathers.

Ponce made his first return to the exhibition game on the 26th of last month (Korea time). At that time, Ponce pitched against the Detroit Tigers with two strikeouts and no runs in one inning (IP). On March 3, Ponce was slightly shaken by two innings (32 pitches) with four hits, two strikeouts and one run (one earned) against the Boston Red Sox. However, he pitched three innings (36 pitches) with one strikeout and one perfect pitch against the Baltimore Orioles on the 9th, and successfully pitched two innings (59 pitches) with two hits, four walks and two strikeouts in the game against the Minnesota Twins on the 14th.

And his fifth exhibition game. It was perfect. He threw a powerful ball from the first inning. The result is a three-way exit. As soon as Rosario appeared at the batter's box, Ponce put a 94.6-mile (152.2 km) four-seam fastball into the outer zone and guided him to a fly ball to center field. Ponce then handled even Escara with a fly ball to right field for the fourth time. After a full count match against Grichuk, who entered the next at-bat, he threw an 88.6-mile (142.6km) splitter toward his body and struck out the rookie. The maximum speed of the fastball in the first inning was 96.5 miles (155.3 kilometers). His maximum speed in the game on the day. The number of pitches in the first inning is 11.

Ponce took the mound in the second inning with Basho's home run giving him a 1-0 lead. Ponce guided leadoff hitter Brown to a fly ball to center field for the third pitch on a 2-0 ball count. The next batter Deyong handled a ground ball in front of the catcher, and Fernandez struck out swinging and continued his perfect march in two innings.

Ponce's powerful pitching continued in the third inning. He led leadoff hitter Schumann to a fly ball to the first base. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. briefly lost his balance, but managed to catch the ball. He then struck out Corona swingingHe even succeeded in perfect pitching in three innings by striking out swinging. By the third inning, he had 36 pitches.

Ponce stood on the mound again in the top of the fourth inning after a long break, with his team adding two runs in the bottom of the third inning. He led leadoff hitter Rosario to a deep ground ball to shortstop, but he failed to throw and led to an infield hit. It was Ponce's only hit on the day. The follow-up Escara led Ponce to a missed ground ball in front of the pitcher. It's a crisis with one out and second base. But Ponce did not waver. After thinning out Gritchuk with a fly ball to right field, he induced the next batter, Brown, to ground out to second base, continuing his scoreless streak.

Ponce stepped on the pitch board in the top of the fifth inning with a 7-0 lead thanks to Springer's grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning. The leadoff hitter Deyong allowed a fast hit to third base. With the pair declared, Toronto third baseman Okamoto succeeded in a diving catch and threw one bound to the first base to get the batter out. Ponce also looked at Okamoto and thanked him. Subsequent Fernandez grounded out to shortstop. The next batter is Schumann. Again, good rain helped Ponce. Schumann's well-hit straight hit stretched toward right field. It appeared to be a double ball over the height of the right field. At this time, Toroto right fielder Barger ran vigorously, snatched the ball, and collided with the fence to make three outs. Ponce clenched his fist and paid tribute to Barger by taking off his hat.

Ponce also took the mound in the sixth inning with Toronto leading 11-0. He grounded out leadoff hitter Corona in front of the catcher and struck out Teheda swinging. So much for Ponce's pitch. Ponce walked down the mound to a standing ovation from many home fans on the first base side.

Meanwhile, Ponce began his professional career with a Milwaukee Brewers draft pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. Making his big league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020, he pitched in 20 games (five starts) and played 55 ⅓ innings in two seasons until the 2021 season, marking 1-7 with 48 strikeouts and ERA 5.86.

Ponce then left for Japan. For three seasons from the 2022 to 2024 season, I experienced Asian baseball through the Nippon Ham Fighters and Rakuten Golden Eagles. And ahead of the 2025 season, Ponce signed a relationship with Hanwha. It signed a total of $1 million, including a down payment of $200,000 and an annual salary of $800,000.

Ponce dominated the KBO League. He started 29 games in the 2025 season and marked 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA. While playing a total of 180 ⅔ innings, he achieved a detailed performance of 128 hits (10 home runs), 41 walks, 252 strikeouts, 41 runs (38 earned runs) per inning (WHIP) of 0.94 and a 0.199 hit rate. He pitched 20 times in quality start (less than three earned runs in six innings as a starter). He topped all four categories including multiple wins, ERA, strikeout and winning percentage (0.944).

In the end, based on this strong performance, Ponce returned to the United States by signing a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on a three-year total of $30 million. Toronto is Ryu Hyun-jin's home team and is familiar to Korean fans. In the 2025 season, he made it to the World Series for the first time in 32 years. However, he lost unfortunately after a bloody battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers until Game 7, and had to be satisfied with the runner-up. How will Ponce and Toronto, who showed good pitching again on the day, show their performance this season.

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*This content was translated by AI.