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Eagles enjoy milestone night in KBO

Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 16:44

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Cody Ponce roars after recording his 200th strikeout of the season in the sixth inning, setting the KBO record for the fewest games needed to reach the milestone, during a game against the Lotte Giants at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Aug. 12. [NEWS1]

The Hanwha Eagles enjoyed a milestone night at home Tuesday, with their manager reaching his 1,000th career victory and their starting pitcher setting two records in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

The Eagles defeated the Lotte Giants 2-0 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon as skipper Kim Kyung-moon earned his 1,000th victory. He became only the third manager in the KBO's 43-year history to reach that mark, joining Kim Eung-yong, who has 1,554 wins, and Kim Sung-keun, with 1,388 wins.

Kim compiled 512 wins with the Doosan Bears from 2004 to 2011 and 384 more with the NC Dinos from 2013 to 2018. He now has 104 wins in charge of the Eagles.

Kim Kyung-moon thanked the Eagles for giving him the opportunity to reach the milestone. He was hired in the middle of the 2024 season, after being away from the KBO for more than six years.

"This is a really meaningful milestone for me personally, but the team is in the middle of a really tight pennant race," said Kim, whose Eagles trail the LG Twins by two games in second place at 62-42-3 (wins-losses-ties). "This is the time of year when every game is crucial, and I want to focus on each and every game until the end of the season."

Kim expressed his gratitude for his staff and players, and added, "I will try to bring joy to our fans in the postseason."

Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon looks at pitcher Cody Ponce as he walks off the mound after the seventh inning during a game against the Lotte Giants at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Aug. 12. [YONHAP]

Eagles starter Cody Ponce broke two records after tossing seven shutout innings and striking out nine batters. Ponce improved to 15-0 to set the new mark for the most consecutive victories by a pitcher from the start of a season.

The nine strikeouts gave Ponce 202 Ks after 23 starts, making him the fastest to 200 strikeouts in a season. The previous mark was 25 starts by then Doosan Bears starter Ariel Miranda in 2021.

Miranda finished that year with a KBO-record 225 strikeouts, and Ponce is on pace to break that mark with more than a handful of starts remaining.

"I'm very grateful, very happy," Ponce said. "Put a lot of hard work in, not just myself but this entire team. It was a great team win tonight."

Asked which of his two records set Tuesday he valued more, Ponce instead pointed to his 18-strikeout game from May 17 that tied the single-game strikeout record.

"You know, you can reach 200 strikeouts and 15-game winning streak if you can get, and I have gotten lucky. I'm very grateful for all the luck," Ponce said. "But I think when it comes down to it, 18 Ks, I never thought I would even have a chance. As the season progressed and we are where we are now, the opportunity to get to 15 wins was there, but 18 Ks is not something you see all the time."

Ponce later clarified that he was still "grateful" for the two recent records, but he has his sights set on a bigger fish, with the Eagles, in second place in the standings, trying to win their first title since 1999.

"Hopefully, I can get a Korean Series championship instead," he said. "That's the only goal that I have — to help our team get to the championship and win it. I'm not chasing records. I'm just chasing a championship with this team, because I think that's the No. 1 goal that everybody wants."

Yonhap