Toronto Blue Jays Cody Ponce (32) made his major league return in front of his family but suffered an unfortunate injury.
Ponce started the game against the Colorado Rockies at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the 31st (KST) and recorded 2⅓ innings, one hit, one walk, three strikeouts and one run.
Through two innings he had kept the scoreless outing going, but in the top of the third he issued a walk to leadoff hitter Kyle Karros and struck out Eduard Julien swinging, yet a wild pitch and a balk advanced Karros to third base. He then induced a ground ball off McCarthy. Ponce ran in to field the slow roller himself, but his step got twisted as he tried to grab the ball and he ultimately missed it. The batter-runner reached first, and the runner on third scored.
The problem was not the run scored. Ponce, who made an awkward move trying to field the ball, collapsed on the ground. Feeling pain in his right knee, Ponce ultimately left the field in a medical cart. He could not hold back tears as he left the mound.
Ponce threw 47 pitches, using a slider (17), changeup (12), four-seam fastball (12) and curveball (6). His four-seam topped out at 97.1 mph (156.3 km/h), showing he was in good condition, but an unexpected injury forced him to leave the mound early.
What made it more heartbreaking was that Ponce's wife and other family members all visited Rogers Centre to watch the game. Ponce's wife, Emma Ponce, shared scenes of the family cheering for him on social media. The family reacted enthusiastically as Ponce pitched scoreless innings through the second, but during the third they could only watch the injury scene.
Ponce pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021, appearing in 20 games (55⅓ innings) with a 1-7 record and a 5.86 ERA, and did not appear in the big leagues afterward. Seeking a new opportunity, Ponce went to Japan and from 2022 to 2024 played for the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Rakuten Golden Eagles but could not find a steady role.
After poor showings in both the United States and Japan, Ponce chose to go to Korea, and that decision changed his career. Last season he pitched for the KBO League Hanwha Eagles, appearing in 29 games (180⅔ innings) with a 17-1 record and a 1.89 ERA, leading the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts (252) and winning percentage (.944) to capture the pitching quadruple crown, and he also won league MVP and the pitching Gold Glove. On the strength of that performance, Ponce signed a three-year, $30 million contract (about 46 billion won) with Toronto and returned to the major leagues.
Ponce raised expectations by going 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA in five spring training appearances (13⅔ innings). And although he took the big league mound for the first time in five years in this game, his injury drew widespread sympathy. Toronto said Ponce was feeling discomfort in his right knee and would undergo an MRI and other detailed examinations to determine the extent of the injury.
Major League Baseball's official site MLB.com reported, "Cody Ponce left the game at Rogers Centre in a medical cart while making his Blue Jays debut. His comeback to the major league mound for the first time since 2021 ended in an unfortunate scene," conveying news of Ponce's injury.
Toronto manager John Schneider said, "He told us on the field that it felt a bit over-rotated. We'll have to wait for the MRI results, but we're hoping for the best outcome. It's his first start, and considering what Ponce has gone through, it's truly a heartbreaking thing. I hope we get as good news as possible tomorrow," expressing hopes for Ponce's healthy return.
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