LG Twins' Austin Dean hits an RBI double with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on July 29.YONHAP
The LG Twins and KIA Tigers are separated by just half a game for third place in the KBO standings entering Wednesday, with five games left between them that could decide who gets a direct pass to the semifinal playoffs.
The gap between the two spots is stark under the KBO's postseason format. The fourth-place team must first fend off a challenge from the fifth-place club in a wild card series of up to two games, risking elimination and burning through its roster before the real postseason even begins. The third-place team, by contrast, advances straight to the semifinal playoffs, giving it extra time to reset. Prize money and playoff revenue also scale with postseason finish, adding to the financial stakes.
LG and KIA still have five meetings left on the schedule: a two-game series in Gwangju, KIA's home ground, on Sept. 26 and 27, followed by a three-game series at LG's home stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, from Oct. 3 to 5. Every one of those games works like a zero-sum swing — a win for one side is a loss for the other in the standings — making an all-out push unavoidable down the stretch.
"If this back-and-forth race keeps going, that final three-game series at Jamsil [Songpa District] will end up being the real decider for third place," LG manager Youm Kyoung-youb said. "The schedule has lined up perfectly, so I expect a lot of baseball fans to pack Jamsil during that stretch."
Another tense race is playing out lower in the standings, where the Doosan Bears and NC Dinos are fighting over the KBO's last playoff berth. Fifth-place Doosan holds a 3.5-game lead over sixth-place NC, and the two teams also have five games left to play — all of them in Songpa District, Doosan's home park: a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a three-game series from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
Doosan Bears’ slugger Park Jun-soon during a game against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 11.YONHAP
Doosan currently has the upper hand, but the upcoming Asian Games, running from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, could complicate things. When Korea's roster for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games convenes on Monday, Doosan will have to release three players — pitchers Gwak Been and Choi Min-seok and infielder Park Jun-soon — all core contributors who have played a major role in keeping the team in playoff position. NC, by comparison, will lose only starting shortstop Kim Ju-won, a relatively small hit. For the roughly two weeks of the Asian Games, Doosan's task will be to hold its ground while NC looks to flip the standings.
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.
