Twins on verge of clinching best record in KBO; Dinos trying to squeeze into postseason

LG Twins players celebrate their 9-2 win over the Hanwha Eagles in the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, Sept. 27. Yonhap

With the regular season winding down in Korean baseball, the LG Twins are on the verge of securing the best record and the bye to the championship series.

Also during the final stretch, the red-hot NC Dinos are trying to squeeze into the postseason with four games left.

The Twins (85-53-3) will grab the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) pennant with a win or a tie against the Hanwha Eagles (81-56-3) to close out their three-game series later Monday at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Twins cut their magic number for the regular-season title to one after beating the Eagles 9-2 on Saturday. Their game scheduled for Sunday was rained out, delaying what appears to be the inevitable to Monday evening.

The top regular-season team in the KBO will advance straight to the Korean Series and enjoy an extended break between the end of the regular season and the start of the championship round. Historically, the regular-season champions have gone on to capture the Korean Series title about 85 percent of the time — including the Twins in 2023.

The Twins are set to play their final regular-season contest Wednesday. Game 1 of the Korean Series is scheduled for Oct. 24.

The Eagles are locked into second place at worst, leaving the next three postseason spots up for grabs.

The SSG Landers (72-63-4) hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the Samsung Lions (73-67-2) in third place, and the Landers have the most games left in the league with five. The Lions only play two more games.

The KT Wiz (70-67-4) trail the Lions by 1 1/2 games with three to go, while the Dinos (67-67-6) are 1 1/2 games behind the Wiz with four more games coming up.

The Wiz are trying to hang on for their sixth consecutive postseason appearance. The Dinos have won five straight games, the longest active streak in the KBO, to keep their postseason hopes alive. After playing the Kia Tigers on Monday, the Dinos will have the biggest game of their season Tuesday against the Wiz.

Then they will play the Twins on Wednesday, before closing out the season against the Landers on Friday, a game that could determine the postseason position for both teams.

Barring further rainouts, the regular season will conclude Friday, and the postseason will start Sunday with the wild card series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.