Hanwha Eagles pitcher Cody Ponce salutes fans during the Korea Baseball Organization All-Star festivities at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 11, 2025. (Imgae courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Following the end of a six-day midseason break, several clubs in the top South Korean baseball league will return to action Thursday with their top starters on the hill.
The Hanwha Eagles, sitting atop the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) standings at 52-33-2 (wins-losses-ties), will start right-hander Cody Ponce against the KT Wiz when their season resumes Thursday night at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
Ponce is leading the KBO in all Triple Crown categories with 11 wins, a 1.95 ERA and 161 strikeouts.
He will be countered by Bae Je-seong, who has made two starts and two relief appearances since being discharged from the Army in June. He has a 1-1 record with a 2.51 ERA.
At Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, No. 2 LG Twins and No. 3 Lotte Giants should also have an intriguing pitching matchup.
Twins starter Son Ju-young is working on a 27-inning scoreless streak against the Giants, including 24 straight innings this year.
Lotte Giants starter Alec Gamboa pitches against the Samsung Lions during the clubs’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in this May 27, 2025, file photo provided by the Giants. (Yonhap)
Giants starter Alec Gamboa was voted the league’s Player of the Month for June after going 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA. He was sidelined earlier this month with some forearm problems but is set to return after two weeks off.
His last start of the first half came against the Twins on July 2, when the American lefty threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 5-2 Giants win.
The Kia Tigers and the NC Dinos will open the second half of the season with a battle of American right-handers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
The Tigers will start James Naile, the reigning ERA king who is third this season in that category with 2.39 after 18 starts. The Dinos will have Riley Thompson, who is tied for first with Ponce with 11 wins and ranks third with 150 strikeouts.
There will be another all-American showdown in Incheon, just west of Seoul, where Mitch White and the SSG Landers will face Cole Irvin and the Doosan Bears.
White is 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings, after missing the early part of the season with a hamstring injury. Irvin has struggled to a 4.46 ERA and a 6-7 record, and also spent time off the active roster in June when the Bears sought to give him a chance to regroup.
The last-place Kiwoom Heroes will play their first match under interim manager Seol Jong-jin on Thursday, with their Australian pitcher Lachlan Wells on the mound against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The Lions will counter with a former Heroes ace Ariel Jurado, who leads the league with 117 1/3 innings pitched. He has gone 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA against the Heroes this season.
(Yonhap)
