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| Victory pitcher Ponce smiled broadly at the support of his teammates and fans.Photo = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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Fellow starters were moved by Ponce's overwhelming pitching. Ryu Hyun-jin Weiss Um Sang-baek Moon Dong-ju held Ponce tightly with his arms wide open.
Hanwha Eagles Cody Ponce won four games of the season, leading the NC Dinos to a 7-1 victory with seven scoreless innings at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 20th. With no outs and 13 strikeouts, he allowed only one hit.
Hanwha continued its winning streak in seven consecutive games until Ponce on the 13th, following Moon Dong-joo against Kiwoom, Ponce Weiss against SSG on the 15th and 17th, and Um Sang-baek against NC on the 18th and 19th. It is the first record in 24 years since Cho Kyu-soo, Han Yong-deok, Lee Sang-mok, Cho Kyu-soo, Song Jin-woo, Han Yong-deok, and Park Jung-jin won seven consecutive starts in 2001.
The dugout was warmed up by '5 Eagle brothers', who played their part 100% during their seven-game winning streak.
Second starter Weiss approached Ponce, who came in after the seventh inning, first, and began to hug him with open arms.
Ryu Hyun-jin, the third starter, is next. He failed to capture the hugging scene between the two players, being hidden by other players. Ryu delighted Ponce with a playful smile after the hug.
Amid the celebratory hug of fourth starter Um Sang-baek, Ponce's face did not leave laughter.
The last one is Moon Dong-ju's turn. Interestingly, the second, third, fourth and fifth starters embraced Ponce in order. Ponce couldn't hide his happy smile at the warm congratulations of his colleagues.
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| Ponce who politely greets the four judges |
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Everything went according to Ponce's wishes on this day. Ponce, who took the mound in the top of the first inning, took off his hat and greeted the four judges politely. And he didn't forget to point to the infielders and inspire them.
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| Pointing at the fielders and calling for fighting |
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On the same day, Ponce's maximum speed was 157 kilometers and an average of 154 kilometers. The NC lineup was neutralized by combining 50 fastballs, 23 changeups, 16 sliders, and 12 curves.
Ponce continued his perfect streak of 10 batters until the top of the fourth inning with one out. However, Kim Joo-won's missed ball fell between right fielder and second baseman, allowing his first hit. To make matters worse, first baseman Chae Eun-sung's obstruction of base allowed Kim to advance to second base. Although it could have been shaken, Ponce roared by striking out Son Ah-seop and Kim Hyung-joon in a row.
Ponce, who finished pitching in the sixth inning with a 5-0 lead, expressed his intention to throw in the seventh inning to Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach. Then coach Yang Sang-moon expressed his gratitude by putting his fists together.
Ponce's neat defense, which out-handled Oh Young-soo in the second inning and Kim Joo-won in front of the pitcher in the seventh inning. In particular, the scene where Son Ah-seop's straight hit reached out his glove after one out in the top of the seventh inning was also excellent.
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| Ponce, who showed good defense twice in the seventh inning, looked at first base and smiled broadly. |
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After allowing a hit in the top of the fourth inning, Ponce showed his strength to turn 11 hitters back to back until the seventh inning. He also increased his record for the most strikeouts in a game to 13K.
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| Fonce hugs Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach. |
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| Lee Jae-won wore a catcher mask after catcher Choi Jae-hoon, who worked together until the fifth inning, was replaced by an injury during the base running. Thanking Lee Jae-won, Ponce |
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Hanwha, the lone second-ranked team, trailed the first-ranked LG Twins (18 wins and five losses) by five games with 14 wins and 11 losses. Starting from the 22nd, they will play three consecutive games against the Lotte Giants, who are moving to Busan and advancing to the front.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
