TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Toronto right-hander Cody Ponce had to be carted off the field in the third inning of his first big league appearance since 2021 after he injured his right knee while trying to make a play on a ground ball.
Ponce stumbled while chasing Jake McCarthy鈥檚 infield grounder and went down in the dirt behind first base. He was able to get to his feet but left on a cart, briefly covering his face with his cap. The Blue Jays said Ponce was removed because of right knee discomfort.
鈥淗e kind of felt it hyperextend a little bit, that鈥檚 what he told me on the field,鈥� manager John Schneider said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to wait for the MRI results, hoping for the best.鈥�
Colorado鈥檚 Kyle Karros scored from third on the play to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead. The Rockies won .
Earlier in the at bat against McCarthy, Ponce caught his foot on the mound and fell down without throwing a pitch.
鈥淗e assured us he was good,鈥� Schneider said of Ponce鈥檚 reaction to the initial slip. 鈥淗e was laughing.鈥�
Ponce struck out three and walked one in 2 1/3 innings before exiting, allowing one run and one hit. Thirty of his 47 pitches were strikes.
鈥淲e liked what we saw,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淛ust unfortunate that the outing was cut short.鈥�
Louis Varland came on for Ponce, who signed a $30 million, three-year contract with the defending AL champion Blue Jays last December.
Ponce went 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA for the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea last season, winning the league鈥檚 MVP and the pitching triple crown. Ponce was selected by Milwaukee in the second round of the 2015 amateur draft and was dealt to Pittsburgh for right-hander Jordan Lyles ahead of the 2019 trade deadline.
Ponce was 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA over five starts and 15 relief appearances for the Pirates in 2020 and 鈥�21, then pitched in Japan for the Pacific League鈥檚 Nippon Ham Fighters (2022-23) and the Rakuten Golden Eagles (2024).
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