Rakuten right-hander Howard fills Ponce's vacancy, 2 games, 13 innings ERA 0.69

May 23, 2025

Rakuten right-hander Howard fills Ponce's vacancy, 2 games, 13 innings ERA 0.69
Rakuten right-hander Howard pitched six innings of one run against Seibu on the 22nd. He has allowed one run in 13 innings in two games this season. Photo capture = Rakuten Eagles SNS



Rakuten right-hander Howard fills Ponce's vacancy, 2 games, 13 innings ERA 0.69
Rakuten won 2-1 against Seibu on the 22nd with a walk-off hit by Rookie Muneyama in the bottom of the ninth inning. Photo capture = Rakuten Eagles SNS
What if Hanwha Eagles failed to recruit Cody Ponce last winter? It's a terrible imagination I don't want to think about. Ponce, who had a slight taste of the Major League, came to the KBO League after experiencing Japanese baseball. Tossed by the Nippon Ham Fighters from 2022-2023 and the Rakuten Eagles from 2024. During his time at Nippon Ham, he drew attention as a no-hitter. On August 27, 2022, against the Softbank Hawks at Sapporo Dome, he hit the milestone with 113 pitches, giving up only two four pitches by the ninth inning. That year, a total of five no-hitters came out, with Sasaki Rocky (then Chiba Lotte Marines) recording the youngest perfect game.

If it had been successful in Japan, it would have been difficult to transfer to Hanwha. He went 3-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 14 games in 2022, 4-5-3.66 in 10 games in 2023, and 3-6-6 in 15 games. He played 202 innings in three seasons and 67 innings last year. It is a disappointing performance compared to strong pitching. An official from Hanwha said "The atmosphere of the KBO League and other teams would have affected it as well."

Ponce joined hands with Hanwha after the end of last season, and Rakuten, who finished fourth, started anew as a new coach. Rakuten signed right-hander Spencer Howard (29). He was a former member of the U.S. Premier 19 team in 2019. 150 million yen a year.




Howard pitched 47 games (32 starts) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians. He played in nine games for the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians last year, recording four wins and 13 losses with a 7.00 ERA. He struck out 27 in 29 innings.

Ponce during the Rakuten era. Sports Chosun DB
Howard, who entered Ponce, quickly adapted. He started in a home game against the Seibu Lions on the 22nd. He pitched six hits and one run until the sixth inning in his second game of the season.

He pitched a fastball of up to 153 kilometers per hour until the fourth inning, allowing no runs. He gave up the first run in the fifth inning when the score was tied 0-0. With two outs and a third base, Seibu No. 9 Ryosuke Gota hit a timely hit to go out on the left line. In the sixth inning, with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, the last batter was grounded out to second base.




He pitched 97 pitches and struck out five. He started the game by catching the leadoff hitter in every inning. I caught the flow and dragged the game.

He didn't get help from the batters. After being replaced at 0-1, a 1-1 tie hit broke out in the seventh inning. Rakuten came from behind to win 2-1 with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Howard said "I didn't score while I was on the mound, but that's baseball. I did my best to do what I could."

The match against Chiba Lotte on the 14th. In his debut, he recorded five hits and no runs in seven innings and earned his first win. After taking a good rest for seven days, he went to Seibu to show his presence.




One run in 13 innings in two games. He has one win and an ERA of 0.69. We have to wait and see, but the next game is an expected performance.

Rakuten right-hander Howard fills Ponce's vacancy, 2 games, 13 innings ERA 0.69
Ponse, who took the mound against Ulsan NC on the 22nd. He allowed two runs in five innings and was replaced. As of the 22nd, Ponce is No. 1 in multiple wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Ulsan = Reporter Park Jae-man
On the day Howard played against Seibu, Hanwha Ponce threw against the NC Dinos. He allowed two runs in five innings in an away game in Ulsan. As of the 22nd, Ponce is the first in strikeouts with eight wins, a 1.63 ERA, and 97 strikeouts.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.