Gwangju:The race for the third seed in the South Korean baseball postseason will reach its climax with the final regular-season game between the Kia Tigers and the LG Twins.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Kia Tigers missed an opportunity to secure the No. 3 spot when they lost to the Lotte Giants 4-1 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. A victory in that game would have guaranteed the Tigers a place in the best-of-five first round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, relegating the LG Twins to the wild card round as the fourth seed. The Doosan Bears have already secured the No. 5 seed and will compete in the wild card series.
With the Tigers' loss on Sunday, the winner of Monday's face-off between the Tigers and the Twins in Gwangju will claim the third seed. The decisive game is scheduled to begin at 630 p.m. Both teams are playing their final game of the regular season, with the Tigers currently holding a record of 78-63-2 in third place, and the Twins close behind at 78-64-1 in fourth place.
The Tigers have a slight edge over the Twins in their season series so far, leading 8-7-0. They recently swept the Twins in a three-game series from October 3 to 5, which allowed them to ascend to the third position.
In Sunday's game, Tigers' pitcher Adam Oller allowed a grand slam by Han Dong-hee in the sixth inning, breaking a scoreless tie. Meanwhile, the Tigers' offense managed only one run on six hits against four Giants pitchers.
The KBO's postseason format rewards teams with better regular-season records, making the distinction between finishing third or fourth highly significant. The third seed will benefit from a four-day rest before starting their first postseason round, allowing them to prepare their pitching rotation optimally. In contrast, the fourth seed will have just one day off before the wild card round begins and will need to use their best starter early, potentially impacting their subsequent games.