Kia Tigers and LG Twins Renew KBO Postseason Rivalry

The Kia Tigers and LG Twins will renew one of Korean baseball’s prominent rivalries in a best-of-five Korea Baseball Organization semifinal beginning Saturday in Gwangju. It will be their first postseason meeting in 10 years and will pit the winners of the past three Korean Series titles against each other.

Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, with the Tigers also hosting Game 2 on Sunday. The series will move to Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul for Game 3 on Tuesday and, if needed, Game 4 on Wednesday. A decisive fifth game would be played in Gwangju next Friday.

Kia earned the third seed and a direct place in the semifinal by defeating LG 4-2 in Monday’s regular-season finale. Kim Do-yeong broke a late tie with a two-run home run in the eighth inning. The fourth-seeded Twins then advanced by beating the Doosan Bears 4-1 in Wednesday’s wild-card game.

The Tigers will start James Naile in the opener. The right-hander went 13-7 with a 3.49 earned run average across 31 regular-season starts, setting KBO career highs with 183 innings and 156 strikeouts. Naile was 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in three starts against LG this year.

The Twins will answer with Anders Tolhurst, who finished the regular season 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts. His numbers against Kia were less favorable, with a 1-3 record and 6.20 ERA over five outings. Tolhurst nevertheless brings significant postseason experience after winning both of his starts in last year’s Korean Series, including the championship-clinching Game 5.

Recent results favor Kia. The Tigers won the season series 9-7 and captured all four October meetings, including a three-game sweep at Jamsil and the regular-season finale. Their lineup also led the league with a .435 slugging percentage. Kim paced the KBO with 45 home runs, while Na Sung-bum hit 31 and Harold Castro added 21 despite appearing in only 99 games.

LG’s primary power threat is Austin Dean, who finished with 41 home runs. The defending champions, however, did not have another player reach 20 homers, and their bullpen has been weakened by injuries. Closer Son Ju-young missed the wild-card game with a herniated disk in his neck, though he is expected to travel with the team.

The Twins are seeking to become the first club since the 2015 and 2016 Doosan Bears to win consecutive Korean Series championships. Kia, the 2024 champion, is trying to return to the title round after missing the postseason last year.