KBO hits final stretch of regular season with expanded rosters, packed schedules

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KBO hits final stretch of regular season with expanded rosters, packed schedules

Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 15:45 Updated: 02 Sep. 2025, 17:22

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The LG Twins celebrate after a 4-3 win over the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Aug. 28. [YONHAP]

The 2025 KBO season has entered September with expanded first-team rosters and make-up games crowding the calendar, reshaping the dynamics of a postseason race already marked by tight competition for the middle spots in the standings.

From Tuesday through the end of the regular season, each team can register 33 players instead of 28. The change allows managers to better manage the workload of starting players and gives prospects from the second-tier Futures League opportunities in the top flight.

Schedules now vary significantly depending on how many games each team has left after weather cancellations earlier in the year.

Some clubs face near-daily games, while others play just two or three times a week. The result is a mix of two-game and three-game series and frequent travel between regions after single games, forcing teams to weigh stamina and pitching rotations more carefully.

At the top of the standings, the LG Twins lead the Hanwha Eagles by 5.5 games.

The Eagles hold an eight-game edge over the SSG Landers, solidifying the first two positions. The fight for the remaining postseason slots, however, remains unsettled. The Landers, Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions are virtually tied in winning percentage, while the KT Wiz trail by only half a game.

Head-to-head games will heavily influence the outcome. The Wiz and Giants play in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday, followed by a game between the Landers and Giants in Incheon on Friday and Saturday.

The Lions, who host the Kiwoom Heroes and the Eagles over a five-game stretch this week, need to maximize wins to gain ground.

The NC Dinos, with 24 games left after early-season stadium issues, have the most opportunities to climb, sitting 2.5 games behind fifth place.

The Giants and Heroes, meanwhile, have the fewest games remaining at 17. For the Heroes, the schedule all but confirms a last-place finish, but for the Giants, their postseason hopes hinge on those final games.

Fans cheer during a KBO game between the LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Aug. 29. [NEWS1]

The Twins’ magic number to clinch the regular-season title stands at 15 with 21 games to go. They play four different opponents this week — the Giants, the Wiz, the Doosan Bears and the Landers.

For the Twins, winning the regular season title this year would mark their first time doing so since the 2023 season, during which they claimed both the regular and Korean Series titles and ended their 29-year Series trophy drought in the process.

As for the Eagles, continuing this year's success through the end of the regular season would put them back in the postseason for the first time since 2018. The Eagles have won the Korean Series once in 1999, but have yet to secure the regular season title.

The KBO postseason features the top five teams from the regular season, with higher seeds rewarded with a later entry.

The fourth and fifth place teams meet first in a wild card round, where the fourth place team begins with a 1–0 lead in a best-of-two series.

The winner faces the third-place team in a best-of-five, and that winner advances to play the second-place team in another best-of-five.

The regular-season champions automatically qualify for the Korean Series, a best-of-seven final, giving the top seed the greatest advantage by skipping directly to the championship.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]