The battle for first place in professional baseball will once again take place at Jamsil. Native starters will open the game.

Hanwha and LG will face off on the 26th at the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League' regular season matchup at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. The two teams have met five times this year, with LG slightly ahead at 3 wins and 2 losses.

Meanwhile, the first and second place confrontation between the Hanwha Eagles and the LG Twins at Jamsil will see Hanwha's Hwang Jun-seo and LG's Im Chan-kyu starting. The gap between first place LG and second place Hanwha is currently 2.5 games.

Hanwha's Hwang Jun-seo is stepping in as a replacement starter for Um Sang-baek, who joined as a free agent. Hwang made his first start of the season against NC on the 21st in Ulsan. He pitched 3⅓ innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 4 with 2 earned runs. Manager Kim Kyung-moon expressed satisfaction with Hwang's pitching and decided to give him another starting opportunity. Second place Hanwha broke a streak of three consecutive losing series with a winning series of 2 wins and 1 loss against Lotte over the weekend and is once again targeting first place LG.

LG's Im Chan-kyu will be the starting pitcher. He has a record of 7 wins, 1 loss, and an earned run average of 2.56 in 10 games this season, serving as the native ace. This season against Hanwha, he started on March 26 at Jamsil, pitching a complete game with 2 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and no earned runs, achieving his first career shutout. It was a celebrate moment 15 years into his career. Continuing this momentum, Im Chan-kyu is sailing smoothly.

However, he struggled on the 21st against Lotte, allowing 11 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 5 earned runs in 4⅔ innings. This marks his highest allowed hits and runs of the season, as he attempts to rebound.

In the three-game series at Jamsil from March 25 to 27, LG achieved a sweep. However, in the two games held in Daejeon on April 29 and 30, Hanwha won both matches. The sixth matchup scheduled for May 1 between the two teams was canceled due to rain.

At Daegu Samsung Lions Park, the 3rd place Lotte will face the tied for 5th place Samsung. This season, Lotte leads the head-to-head matchup with 5 wins and 1 loss.

Gamboa, who joined as a replacement player after being released with an 8-week prognosis due to left shoulder scapular damage, signed a contract with Lotte for a total of $330,000 (a salary of $300,000 with $30,000 in incentives).

Gamboa was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 9th round of the 2019 draft and has remained in the minor leagues, appearing in 131 games (41 starts), pitching 359⅔ innings with a record of 28 wins and 22 losses, and an earned run average of 4.23. At the Triple-A level, he has played 53 games (17 starts), pitched 133⅓ innings, with a record of 5 wins and 12 losses, an earned run average of 3.92, 106 strikeouts, and 72 walks.

After entering the country, Gamboa made a starting appearance in one Futures League game, completing his preparations for his first-team debut. He started as the pitcher in the Futures League game against the Samsung Lions held at Gyeongsan on the 21st, pitching 3 innings while throwing 40 pitches, allowing 3 hits with no walks and recording 4 strikeouts with no earned runs. He threw 31 strikes out of 40 pitches, showcasing stable control, and reached a top speed of 153 km/h.

In Gamboa's debut match, the starting pitcher for Samsung will be Ariel Hurado, known as a 'quality start machine.' Hurado has recorded 4 wins and 4 losses with an earned run average of 2.39 over 11 games. He has achieved quality starts in 10 out of those 11 games and demonstrated stable pitching. Against Lotte on April 20 in Daegu, he pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 hits (including 2 home runs), 2 walks, and striking out 5, allowing 3 earned runs. He recorded a no-decision.

In Munhak, NC's Shin Min-hyuk and SSG's Drew Anderson will start. In Suwon, Doosan's Choi Seung-yong and KT's Go Young-pyo are scheduled to start. In Gwangju, Kiwoom’s Ha Young-min and KIA’s Adam Oller will face off.

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