Kia, LG, SK vie for playoff berth
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Kim Ki-tae, second from right, manager of the Kia Tigers, celebrates with his team’s players after winning their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League game against the Samsung Lions at Gwangju Kia Champions Field, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
While the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League heads toward the end of the season, three teams ranked from Nos. 4 to 6 are vying to punch the last two tickets of the playoff.
In the standings as of Monday, the top three teams are the Doosan Bears (75 wins, one draw and 42 losses), the NC Dinos (64-2-44) and the Nexen Heroes (65-1-50) and for the rest of the two playoff berths, the fourth-place Kia Tigers (57-1-59), fifth-place LG Twins (56-1-59) and sixth-place SK Wyverns (58-0-62) are in fierce competition as there is only one game separating them.
The Maginot Line for the playoff ticket is at least fifth at the end of the season, but there is a huge gap between fourth and fifth in the postseason.
In the KBO’s step-ladder postseason system, the fourth and the fifth place will have a two-game wildcard round after the regular season. To give an advantage to the fourth-place team, the No. 4 team only needs to win one game while the No. 5 team must win both games to advance.
The Tigers anchor their hope to returning players. The team said their starting pitcher Zeke Spruill, who dropped out of the roster two weeks ago due to a right elbow injury, will return from injury. The American pitcher has recorded eight wins and 11 losses with an ERA of 5.50 while throwing in 24 games.
While missing the American right-hander, left-handed reliever Ko Hyo-jun who was traded from the Wyverns at the trade deadline on July 31, helped the team a lot, allowing only four earned runs while throwing 18.1 innings. In addition, the team’s second baseman An Chi-hong will also comeback after competing his compulsory two-year military duty next month.
With 27 games left, the Tigers will have a two-game series with the Wyverns at their home Gwangju Kia Champions Field on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The No. 5 Twins are waiting for their ace starting pitcher to return as well.
The team’s manager Yang Sang-moon removed their sidearm starter Woo Kyu-min from the roster on Aug. 19 to give him a break. Though Woo has been one of the league’s leading starters recording 10-plus wins for the past three seasons, the 31-year-old has been in an awful slump this year with only five wins and nine losses while throwing 113.2 innings in 21 games.
The Twins, who have 28 games left, will have a two-game series with the eighth-place Lotte Giants (51-0-64) in Busan.
Things surrounding the Wyverns are a bit complicated as the Incheon-based team, who has 24 games left, is scheduled to play the No. 1 Bears in two more games and for five more games against the No. 2 Dinos. Against the top two teams, the Wyverns only won four games respectively.
After playing a two-game series with the Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Wyverns will have another two-game series with the Heroes and the Dinos on the weekend.