Tigers face big week in KBO with games against rivals

Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers hits a double in the bottom of the first inning during a game against Hanwha Eagles in Gwangju, May 6. Yonhap

With a so-so start to their season now behind them, the Kia Tigers are in for a big week with games against clubs trying to push their way into the top four.

The Tigers are currently holding down the fourth spot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) standings, with a record of 32-27-1 (wins-losses-ties).

They were 17-20-1 after games on May 12, tied for sixth place. Since then, the Tigers have gone 15-7-0, the best record in the KBO in that stretch.

They lead the Hanwha Eagles (30-27-1) by one game and these two rivals will clash for a three-game series starting Tuesday at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon.

The Eagles have won three straight games, the longest active winning streak.

For the weekend series, the Tigers will return home to host the Doosan Bears (29-29-2) at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju. The Bears trail the Tigers by 2 1/2 games.

The Tigers are following the lead of the 2024 MVP Kim Do-yeong, who is having a resurgent year after missing most of last season due to injuries. Kim launched four home runs last week, including two on Sunday, to soar to the top of the leaderboard with 18 dingers. He slugged an absurd .913 in his past six games.

The Eagles were seven games below .500 on May 5, only a half game out of last place, but are now sitting their season-high three games above the break-even point. After the Tigers series, the Eagles will travel to Seoul to face last-place Kiwoom Heroes (22-38-1) at Gocheok Sky Dome from Friday to Sunday,

The Heroes have fallen on hard times. They enjoyed a season-best five-game winning streak in late May but that was immediately followed by eight consecutive losses. After snapping that slide, the Heroes lost four more games in a row.

The Heroes are trying to avoid their fourth consecutive last-place finish, and they are getting some help from the Lotte Giants (22-35-1), who have dropped four straight games and are 1 1/2 games above the Heroes.

The Giants begin their week with a three-game set against the Bears and then will take on first-place LG Twins (36-23-0) for the next three games.

The KT Wiz (34-24-1), 1 1/2 games back of the Twins in second place, will go up against third-place Samsung Lions (33-24-1) for the midweek series. Only a half game separate the Wiz and the Lions, both of whom won just two out of six games last week.

The SSG Landers (26-32-1) have righted the ship somewhat after suffering a franchise-worst 13-game losing streak last Wednesday. They won four of the six games last week and they will be on a six-game road trip against the Twins in Seoul and the Lions in Daegu this week.