Kia Tigers and LG Twins renew postseason rivalry in KBO first-round series

GWANGJU — With his LG Twins having dropped seven straight games against the Kia Tigers in the regular season, manager Youm Kyoung-youb said Saturday they are determined to punch right back in the postseason. The Twins and the Tigers are facing off in the best-of-five first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, starting Saturday at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The Tigers held off the Twins to grab the third seed and earn a bye to this round, while the Twins ended up in fourth place and had to beat the Doosan Bears in the wild card game Wednesday. Losing to the Tigers on the final day of the regular season Monday here in Gwangju sealed the Twins' fate. "We kept losing to Kia in some crucial games late in the season and it forced us to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what went wrong," Youm said in his pregame media availability. "I think it will help us in this postseason round." Youm predicted that stopping Tigers slugger Kim Do-yeong from doing much damage will go a long way toward helping the Twins. Kim led the reg

GWANGJU — As the Kia Tigers open their Korean baseball postseason run Saturday at home, manager Lee Bum-ho said he will look to the top of his lineup to inflict damage on their opponent. The Tigers will host the LG Twins to begin the best-of-five first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. Park Jae-hyun, one of the league's breakout stars this year with 19 homers and 21 steals, will bat leadoff, followed by the 2024 Korean Series MVP Kim Sun-bin. Then Kim Do-yeong, the 2024 regular-season MVP, will bat in his usual No. 3 spot, followed by Harold Castro and Na Sung-bum. Kim Do-yeong led the KBO with 45 homers in the regular season, while Castro and Na added 21 home runs and 31 home runs, respectively. "I think the game will come down to how well our first five batters will perform," Lee said in his pregame media availability. "Obviously, the bottom part of the lineup is also important, but our top guys will have to set the tone." Prior to this series, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said kee

GWANGJU, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- As the Kia Tigers open their South Korean baseball ...

The Kia Tigers and the LG Twins, the two teams that have combined to win the past three Korean baseball championships, will renew their postseason rivalry starting this weekend. The two clubs will have their first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason showdown in 10 years when the first game in their best-of-five semi-final round opens at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Tigers' home, Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The Twins are the defending Korean Series champions and they also won the 2023 title. They are trying to become the first team since the 2015-2016 Doosan Bears to capture back-to-back Korean Series titles. The Tigers were the 2024 Korean Series champions but missed the postseason in 2025. The Tigers will host the first two games, with the second game scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Sunday. The series will shift to the Twins' home turf, Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, for Game 3 at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and, if necessary, Game 4 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. If the series goes the distance, the deciding fifth game will be back in Gwangju at 6:30 p.

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- The Kia Tigers and the LG Twins, the two teams that h...