Kia Tigers rally to trounce LG Twins 5-1 in first game of playoff round

Slugger Kim Do-yeong homered twice and drove in four runs, while starter James Naile tossed seven innings of one-run ball, as the Kia Tigers rallied past the LG Twins 5-1 to begin their Korean baseball postseason series at home Saturday.

Kim smacked a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie and then drove in an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Jeonnam-Gwangju. Kim then put an exclamation mark with a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

Naile held the Twins to a run on four hits over seven effective innings in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000.

Game 2 is 2 p.m. Sunday at the same stadium.

In the past 10 editions of the best-of-five first round, teams that claimed the first game went on to win the series nine times.

The Twins struck first in the top of the second inning. With two outs, Song Chan-eui jumped on a hanging sweeper from Naile and put it in the seats in left field for a solo home run.

But the Tigers responded right away in the bottom of the second, as Harold Castro led off with a solo home run off starter Anders Tolhurst.

The Tigers went ahead with another home run, this time a solo shot by Kim in the bottom of the fourth.

Kim ambushed Tolhurst on a first-pitch fastball that caught too much of the plate and sent it 124 meters (407 feet) into the left field stands.

The Twins were gifted an opportunity in the top of the fifth. With one out, Park Dong-won sent a routine fly to left-center field for what would have been an easy out. Left fielder Park Jae-hyun raised his left arm to call off center fielder Kim Ho-ryung, who apparently did not see the move and ended up bumping into his teammate. Park Jae-hyun dropped the ball for an error that put Park at first.

The Twins failed to capitalize, however, as Gu Bon-hyeok flied out and Hong Chang-ki grounded out to end the inning.

The Twins then let Naile off the hook in the top of the sixth after Park Hae-min opened the frame with a double. Dean got an intentional walk, but with two men on, cleanup Moon Jeong-bin struck out before Moon Bo-gyeong grounded into a 4-6-3 rally-killing double play.

Then defense betrayed the Twins in the bottom sixth.

Left fielder Song dropped an easy fly ball off the bat of Park Jae-hyun, and third baseman Moon Bo-gyeong booted a grounder hit right at him by Kim Sun-bin.

That play chased Tolhurst from the game, with Kim Do-yeong due up next.

Facing new pitcher Woo Kang-hoon, Kim fell just short of his second home run of the game, but his fly ball to the warning track in right-center field was deep enough to score Park from third to make it a 3-1 game.

With Naile done, the Tigers used three relievers to keep the Twins off the board in the top eighth, with Jeon Sang-hyun retiring Moon Jeong-bin on a deep fly to center when the Twins had two runners on.

Kim Do-yeong then put the icing on the cake with his two-run shot in the bottom eighth off reliever Jang Hyun-sik.

Jeon came back out for the ninth to get the final three outs.

Yonhap