Seoul:Two rival teams, the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, will kick off the South Korean baseball postseason by competing in the wild card round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The first game is scheduled for 630 p.m. on Wednesday in Seoul. The Twins, holding the fourth seed, can advance to the next round with either a win or a tie. Should they lose, they will have another chance at 630 p.m. on Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Bears, who are the fifth seed, need to win two consecutive games at Jamsil to proceed further in the playoffs. This wild card system was added to the KBO postseason in 2015, and only once has a fourth seed been eliminated—when the Bears lost to the KT Wiz.
Former major leaguer Carlos Carrasco will start for the Twins. Since joining in July, Carrasco has a record of 6-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 11 starts. The Bears will counter with Gwak Been, who led the KBO with a 2.24 ERA and 197 strikeouts this year. Gwak seeks his first postseason win, having previously gone 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA in his playoff appearances.
This marks the seventh postseason meeting between these teams and the last one at Jamsil Stadium, which will be demolished after the season to make way for a new facility. The Twins won 11 out of 16 matchups against the Bears this season with one tie.
The Twins, who slipped from first to fourth place due to injuries, face bullpen challenges. They will miss Kim Jin-sung due to a shoulder injury and Go Woo-suk, who is ineligible for postseason play. Closer Son Ju-young, who recorded 31 saves, has been ruled out with a neck spasm. The Bears, meanwhile, have maintained their position and will enter the series with a rested rotation and the best bullpen ERA in the league.
The Bears will miss infielder Park Jun-soon due to a thigh injury. The Twins' lineup features Austin Dean, one of the KBO's top sluggers, while the Bears rely on their strong pitching and speed, ranking second in steals.