I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge

Aug 12, 2025

I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
Gamboa for the interview. Reporter Kim Young-rok



I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
Lotte Gamboa is moving after training in a game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 7th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.07/
I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
A game between Kiwoom and Lotte at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 24th. Lotte's Gamboa, who is pitching as a starter. Gocheok = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.24/
"I'm also nervous to face the best pitcher in the league. I'm looking forward to it."

Will it be possible to block the opening 14 consecutive wins of Cody Ponce (31) of the Hanwha Eagles. Lotte Giants' Eric Gamboa (28) will serve as a sniper.

Hanwha and Lotte will play their 11th game of the season at Hanwha Life Ball Park on the 12th.




It is a showdown between the two popular teams, which beat expectations for the season game and ranked at the top of the ranking table for the first time in seven to eight years, but are rapidly shaking in the second half of the year. Hanwha fell to second place last week with one win and two losses in a series against KT Wiz and LG Twins, while Lotte also slumped with one win and two losses to KIA Tigers and two losses to SSG Landers. For Lotte, not only did it catch up with the difference between the middle and the lead, but it also moved away from the lead again.

At this point, the first and third starters of the two teams are going side by side. If even a sweep is made to one side, the loser's blow may hit the rest of the second half of the season beyond the series. Hanwha is expected to have Ponce, Ryan Weiss and Ryu Hyun-jin, and Lotte is expected to have Gamboa, Vince Velazquez and Lee Min-seok (or Na Kyun-an).

I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
The match between the Hanwha Eagles and the Samsung Lions at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 30th. Hanwha Ponce is roaring after overcoming the loss crisis in the top of the third inning. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.30/
There are Ponce and Gamboa's 'Big Bang' at the top of the list. Ponce, the best pitcher of the year, and Gamboa, who led Lotte's turnaround based on an overwhelming fastball after joining as a substitute, met on the single-tree bridge. It is the first face-off between the two players.




Gamboa's face was bright when she met at Sajik Stadium in Busan. Gamboa also won six consecutive starts at one point, but has been 1-2 in the last four games since then. He smiled when he said 'He threw well, but his luck didn't go well.'"Winning and losing is only part of baseball."

"I've been wanting to play against Ponce for a while, but I'm glad it happened like this. I'm looking forward to facing the best pitcher in the KBO League this year. It's also a very important series for our team, so I think it'll be more fun."

Luck is also the result of a little bit. Recently, new foreign player Velazquez joined Lotte. He is a 33-year-old veteran pitcher who pitched 763 ⅔ innings in the Major League alone. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung originally planned to use Velazquez on the 12th and Gamboa on the 13th.




I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
Gamboa and Velazquez at the team's award ceremony at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 10th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.10/
In the end, however, Velazquez's appearance was postponed to the 13th. This is consideration for him, who entered the country on the 8th and is recovering his condition. In the meantime, Ponce and Gamboa faced off.

Gamboa played for Triple-A for seven years, but unfortunately, she couldn't make it to the big leagues. Perhaps that's why Gamboa, who met Velazquez, looked especially happy.

"The player I saw on TV appeared in reality, as my teammate. I'm also looking forward to seeing Velazquez pitch, and I think it'll be an opportunity for me to learn a lot because he's such a veteran."

Since joining Lotte, Gamboa has been thoroughly focusing on fastballs and sliders. In particular, the proportion of fastballs exceeds 60%. In the match against the Busan KIA Tigers on the 5th, it reached 73.8%.

On the other hand, curve and change-up seem to have decreased a lot. Gamboa laughed "The fastball is working well now"

I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and Gamboa, with one out and runners on the first and third bases, is cheering after finishing the inning with Wisdom as a double play in the top of the fourth inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/
"It's not because there's a problem with the curve or change-up, but because I'm planning to focus on the fastball every game. My ball control is good, and it's better to push with a fastball than to use a change-up. Wouldn't there be a situation where we have to use other breaking balls?"

Lotte is heading towards autumn. Is Gamboa, the first foreign player replacement, a huge success? Velazquez, who was hired instead of Tucker Davidson, is considered a "all or no" gambling number.

Prior to recruiting them, the Lotte team tried to convey its sincerity about 'This year's performance and how important the postseason means to us.' Gamboa, who was somewhat quiet, is also leading the team's atmosphere by performing ceremonies as the season heats up.

Gamboa has high expectations for advancing to the postseason itself. We still have a lot of games left, so we want to focus on each game in front of us now."

"The entire team seems to be dreaming of an autumn baseball game. My goal is the championship. If it's your desperation to win, I'm second to none."

I wanted to be on it someday Should we stop the Ponce winning streak? → ERA 2.14 Lotte Savior met on a single-wood bridge
The game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th, and Gamboa, with one out and runners on the first and third bases, is happy with Park Seung-wook after finishing the inning with Wisdom as a double play in the top of the fourth inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.05/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.