Ace Ponce's expression of defensively hardened at a critical moment, Roh Si-hwan's regretful judgment in the seventh inning
May 29, 2025
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Hanwha starter Ponce, who had played 72 innings before the game and was bombing the KBO League with an eight-win, unbeaten 1.63 strikeouts with 97 strikeouts, took the mound as a starting pitcher against LG at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th.
Ponce led Hanwha's rise in the early part of the season, with the No. 1 ERA, the 1st strikeout, and the joint second place with multiple wins.
Hanwha, which lost by 2 to 11 points the previous day, overwhelmed the atmosphere at the beginning of the game with ace Ponce. While starter Ponce did not allow any LG batters to get on base with strong pitching until the third inning, Hanwha fielders' concentration was revived after leadoff Floral's solo shot in the first inning and two outs in the third inning.
After two outs, Ha Joo-seok, Moon Hyun-bin and Roh Si-hwan hit three consecutive hitters. As the fielders scored the first four points of the game, starter Ponce continued pitching more aggressively.
In the third inning, Ponce struck out LG's leadoff hitter Shin Min-jae and achieved 100 strikeouts in 12 games. Ponce, who matched Ryu Hyun-jin's 100 strikeouts in 12 games in the 2012 season, coolly admitted when his 155km fastball thrown in the game with Kim Hyun-soo led to a solo shot after one out in the fourth inning. It was definitely a fastball that went well into his body. When batter Kim Hyun-soo connected the well-throwed ball to a home run with a technical hit, Ponce coolly admitted by pulling out his lips.
In the following match, he gave up a hit to Austin, but Ponce smiled broadly after double play of the fourth batter, Moon Bo-kyung.
When the body changeup thrown to Lee Young-bin led to a solo shot after one out in the sixth inning, Ponce coolly admitted, "It was his real pitch, just like when he allowed Kim Hyun-soo to throw a solo shot in the fourth inning."
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Ponce, who took the mound in the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead, lost his winning pitching requirements at a critical moment as the infielders' poor defense came out.
The seventh inning started by allowing the first batter Moon Bo-kyung to hit the ball. starter Ponce, who was on the verge of losing a point by giving up a hit to Park Dong-won at first base with no outs. Fonce did not have defensive help from fielders, who were needed more than ever in the moment of the run crisis.
LG and Hanwha infielders' disappointing defensive play led to a crisis on the second and third bases with no outs, without catching a single runner.
For Hanwha starter Ponce, who was playing well with overwhelming ball power, LG Koo Bon-hyuk's at-bat in the seventh inning was the most regrettable.
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Shortstop Ha Joo-seok, who cut in the middle, threw to third baseman Noh Si-hwan to catch the leading runner. At this time, Roh Si-hwan's disappointing judgment came out.
The throwing to second baseman Hwang Young-mook without driving Moon Bo-kyung, who was caught in the rundown, led to fatal results. The situation that could have led to at least one out and second base became the second and third bases with no outs in one defensive judgment.
Despite his disappointing defense at the end of the game, Ponce silently kept the mound. He seemed to overcome the crisis on his own by striking out Koo Bon-hyuk and Oh Ji-hwan at the second and third bases with no outs.
The problem came during the last batter Park Hae-min's at-bat. He succeeded in pressing Park Hae-min's bat with a powerful fastball, but the ball that was eaten fell in front of the left field and allowed a tie.
Ponce, who looked despondent, struck out Lee Young-bin and finished the game on the day.
Hanwha avenged its defeat the previous day by winning 6-5 after a close game in the 11th inning.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
