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Clubs in virtual tie for 1st in KBO set for weekend clash in Seoul

Published: 04 Aug. 2025, 12:10 Updated: 04 Aug. 2025, 12:22

LG Twins players celebrate their 8-2 win over the KT Wiz in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on July 29. [YONHAP]

The two clubs in a virtual tie for first place in Korean baseball will have an eagerly anticipated weekend showdown in Seoul.

The Hanwha Eagles are at the top of the KBO standings over the LG Twins, but barely so. The Eagles have a 59-38-3 (wins-losses-ties) record for a .608 winning percentage. The Twins have more wins and have played three more games, with a record of 61-40-2, a .604 winning percentage. There is a "0" in the "games behind" column next to the Twins' name in the league standings.

The Twins will host the Eagles for a three-game set at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in the capital beginning Friday. And given the way they've been playing lately, the Twins could well be back in first place for the first time since June 27 by the time the Eagles come to town.

The Twins have won six games in a row. Since the season resumed following the All-Star break July 17, the Twins have gone a league-best 13-2-0. Over that same span, the Eagles are 7-5-1. They were also idle over the weekend, as their games against the Kia Tigers on Saturday and Sunday were rained out in the southern city of Gwangju.

To make a push for the regular-season title and a bye to the Korean Series, the Twins made a significant roster change Sunday, replacing starter Elieser Hernandez with career minor leaguer Anders Tolhurst — a day after Hernandez threw six innings of one-run ball and struck out a season-high nine batters.

Tolhurst is scheduled to arrive in Korea on Wednesday and likely won't be ready to pitch against the Eagles on the weekend — meaning the Twins will have to find a spot starter for one game in that series.

Before these two rivals square off, the Twins will host the Doosan Bears at Jamsil from Tuesday to Thursday, while the Eagles will be home in the central city of Daejeon for three games against the KT Wiz, losers of five straight.

Hanwha Eagles players leave Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul, after losing to the Kia Tigers 3-2 in their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game on Aug. 1. [YONHAP]

The Lotte Giants, in third place at 57-44-3, are trying to put some pressure on the two leaders. With eight victories in their past 10 games, the Giants are four games behind the Twins. The Giants will have a six-game home stand in the southeastern city of Busan, with three games against the Tigers and three versus the SSG Landers.

The Tigers have bounced back from a seven-game losing skid by winning two straight. They are ready to welcome back the reigning league MVP Kim Do-yeong from his second hamstring injury of the season.

Kim was called up from his minor league rehab stint ahead of Saturday's game against the Eagles before it was wiped out by rain. If Kim plays Tuesday as expected, it will be his first game since May 27.

Elsewhere in the KBO, the Samsung Lions will try to snap their five-game losing streak when they travel to Incheon, just west of Seoul, to play the Landers.

The Lions are in eighth place at 48-52-1. They have had four losing slides of at least four games this season.

Yonhap