Twins manager says team ready for road success vs. Eagles in Korean Series

LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb reacts to a play during Game 2 of the Korean Series against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

DAEJEON — The LG Twins only defeated the Hanwha Eagles once in seven regular-season meetings on the road in Daejeon, while losing six times and settling for a tie once.

And the two teams' Korean Series shifts to this central city, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, for Game 3 on Wednesday, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said things will be different this time around.

"When it comes to the players' level of concentration, it's night and day during the Korean Series compared to the regular season," Youm said in his pregame media session at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. "As you saw in the first two games, our hitters and pitchers are all locked in. I expect a lot out of this group."

The Twins took the first two games at home, Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, in convincing fashion — 8-2 in the opener and 13-5 in the next game.

In both victories, the Twins had more runs than hits. While they took advantage of several walks issued by the Eagles, Youm also pointed to his hitters' ability to bear down when scoring opportunities came up.

"We scored a bunch of runs with two outs, and I think it comes down to our level of focus," Youm said. "The ability to score with two outs in an inning is a key to winning games, both in the regular season and the postseason."

Youm is still waiting for Austin Dean, the team's regular-season leader in home runs with 31, to get into the hit column. He has gone 0-for-7 with four strikeouts so far, though he has also drawn three walks.

Despite Dean's early struggles, Youm is keeping him in the No. 3 spot in the lineup for the third straight game Wednesday.

"I have high expectations of him. I think he's due for a breakout," Youm said. "I think he was trying to do too much earlier in the series and it affected his mechanics. He has to stay within himself. But he was swinging the bat well before the series. Otherwise, I would have made changes to our lineup already."

The Twins will face Cody Ponce, the Triple Crown winner as the league leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts, in Wednesday's game.

As for how to best solve Ponce, Youm said, "He throws his fastball more than 60 percent of the time. We have to look for pitches lower in the zone and lay off high fastballs."