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Eagles ace Ponce takes 1st loss of KBO season after record-breaking winning streak

Published: 21 Sep. 2025, 13:58

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Cody Ponce pitches during a KBO game against the NC Dinos at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on Sept. 3. [YONHAP]

Hanwha Eagles ace Cody Ponce suffered his first loss of the 2025 KBO season Saturday, as his record winning streak came to an end at 17.

Ponce was charged with the loss as the Eagles fell to the KT Wiz 4-2 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Ponce was charged with four earned runs on five hits and a season-high four walks in five innings, falling to 17-1 for the season.

Ponce had won his first 17 decisions to start this season — his first in Korea — to set a new KBO record. The previous mark had been 14 straight wins by Chong Min-tae of the Hyundai Unicorns in 2003 and Hector Noesi of the Kia Tigers in 2017. Ponce leads the KBO in wins this year but is now just one ahead of his teammate, Ryan Weiss.

Ponce also broke the KBO's single-season strikeout record by getting his 226th K on Sept. 3. With six strikeouts Saturday, Ponce pushed his league-leading total to 242, nine more than Drew Anderson of the SSG Landers.

Ponce's ERA went up from 1.70 to 1.85 after Saturday's loss, but he still leads the KBO in that category. Anderson is in second place at 2.18.

The loss snapped the Eagles' four-game winning streak but they remained comfortably in second place at 80-54-3 (wins-losses-ties), 9 1/2 games ahead of the SSG Landers with seven games to play.

The Eagles are also trying to chase down the LG Twins for the top spot. The Twins lost to the Samsung Lions 14-4 on Saturday and hold a three-game lead over the Eagles with seven games to go.

Yonhap