Daegu:Two longstanding rivals in South Korean baseball, the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers, are gearing up for a high-stakes face-off in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. The teams will compete in a best-of-five second-round series starting this weekend, with the first game scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Lions, who secured a second-place finish in the regular season, earned a bye to this round. Meanwhile, the Tigers advanced by sweeping the 2025 Korean Series champions LG Twins in the previous round. The series opener and the second game will be held in Daegu, with the second game set for 630 p.m. Monday. The action then moves to Gwangju for Game 3 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Wednesday at 630 p.m., with Game 4, if necessary, also in Gwangju. A potential Game 5 would bring the teams back to Daegu on October 31.
The winner of this series will advance to the Korean Series to face the KT Wiz, the regular-season champions. The Lions and Tigers have met in five previous postseason series, with the Tigers emerging victorious in their last encounter during the 2024 Korean Series.
This season, the Tigers claimed the season series by winning nine of 16 meetings against the Lions, including four victories in seven games held in Daegu. The series is expected to be driven by offensive power, with standout players like the Tigers' Kim Do-yeong, who led the league with 45 home runs, and Na Sung-bum, who hit 31. The Lions boast three players with over 100 RBIs, including Lewin Diaz, who achieved 129 RBIs.
Kim Do-yeong was a significant force in the series against the Twins, hitting three home runs in three games, including a decisive grand slam. He also hit nine home runs against the Lions during the regular season, with four of those homers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. For the Lions, Koo Ja-wook, the regular-season batting champion, hit .340 against the Tigers.
The Lions' pitching staff, led by Ariel Jurado, Chris Paddack, and Won Tae-in, faces the challenge of balancing rest and maintaining form, as their last regular-season game was on October 12. Conversely, the Tigers' pitchers enter the series after a short break, buoyed by strong performances from starters James Naile, Adam Oller, and Keisho Shirakawa, as well as nine relievers.