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| Members of the LG Twins celebrate after their 5-4 victory over the Nexen Heroes with a walk-off hit in the ninth inning at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Sunday. / Yonha |
By Kim Tae-jong
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But to their disappointment, the Twins won their game against the NC Dinos, Monday, after a winning series against their archrival the Nexen Heroes over the weekend.
With Monday's no-hitter game, the Twins have successfully maintained their fourth-place position in the Korean Baseball Organization.
With the regular season coming to an end on Oct. 17, the Samsung Lions, Heroes and NC Dinos have already secured the top three spots in the postseason, but four clubs right behind them are in a cutthroat competition for the fourth and final playoff berth.
The Twins have been in fourth for more than a month, barely ahead of their competitors, even after their two-week break for the Incheon Asian Games
If the Twins keep winning, there will be no chance for the Wyverns, Giants and Bears to sneak into the last playoff spot.
The Wyverns sit 1.5 games back of the Twins, the Giants and Bears are 4 games behind. It is now almost impossible for the bottom two clubs, Kia Tigers and Hanwha Eagles, to move up to fourth.
The three clubs chasing the Twins need to win every game possible and hope LG falters going down the stretch.
In that regard, the Wyverns have been successful of late in at least keeping pace with the Twins, as they each recorded three wins from their last four games. The Giants also won two games from their last three.
The Bears, however, have been sluggish. They managed to win the game against the Lions Monday after four consecutive losses.
Now, the Twins and Wyverns have six games left while the Bears have nine games to play. The Giants have six.
If the Twins win two more games out of the six, the Wyverns would have to win at least five and the Giants would need to sweep all their remaining games to make the postseason. Doosan would need to win at least eight games out of nine.
If the Twins win more than three games, they will lock up the final playoff berth.
The tightness of the race among those four teams suggests that showdowns between the middle-ranking rivals are the most critical.
The Twins have one game each against Tigers and Giants, and two games each against the Lions and Bears.
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