In the latest from the Korean Baseball Organization, the playoff field is set, with only seeding left to be decided.
Doosan rallies for dramatic win to secure postseason berth
Doosan hosted a pivotal three-game series against the NC Dinos. The Bears entered the series with a six-game lead over the Dinos for the final postseason spot, while NC needed a sweep to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
Doosan opened the series Tuesday night with a 5-2 victory.
The teams continued the series Wednesday. After a scoreless first two innings, the Bears got on the board in the bottom of the third on Eui-ji Yang’s sacrifice fly.
The 1-0 Doosan lead held until the top of the fifth. After a leadoff single, No. 9 hitter Tae-yang Oh doubled into the left-field corner to tie the game. Jae-hwan Cheon singled two batters later to give the Dinos a 2-1 lead. Whee-jip Kim then singled with two outs to extend the lead to 3-1.
Doosan cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the sixth on Yunior Severino’s 395-foot blast to the right-field seats.
With the Dinos still leading 3-2 in the eighth, NC added a crucial insurance run when Ju-won Kim delivered a two-out RBI single to center field. Doosan answered in the bottom half of the inning when Soo-haeng Jo’s bloop single to left field made it a one-run game again.
With the potential tying run on first and two outs, Dinos reliever Sa-min Chun got Soo-bin Jung to ground out, preserving a 4-3 NC lead after eight innings.
The Dinos added another run in the ninth to take a 5-3 lead and move within three outs of cutting Doosan’s lead in the playoff race to five games.
But the Bears mounted a dramatic comeback.
After two of the first three Doosan hitters reached base, Da-min Jeon walked to load the bases with one out. Min-suk Kim then delivered a game-tying two-run double.
Seung-ho Kang followed with a soft ground ball to the left of the second baseman. Although the infielder made a diving stop, there was no play at the plate, and the Doosan Bears walked off the NC Dinos, 6-5.
The loss eliminated the Dinos from playoff contention, while Doosan clinched its postseason berth after missing the playoffs in 2025.
Sam Hilliard continues historic season for foreign hitter
The former MLB outfielder has put together a historic debut season in the KBO as a foreign player.
Wednesday, with the KT Wiz trailing the KIA Tigers 2-0 in the seventh inning in a pivotal game for both teams, Hilliard came to the plate with a runner on first and two outs.
He delivered a game-tying two-run home run over the right-field fence to turn the game around.
Dong-jin Kwan hit the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning, lifting the Wiz to a crucial 3-2 victory and preserving their three-game lead over the Samsung Lions for first place.
It was a crushing loss for the Tigers, who had a chance to pull within one game of the LG Twins for third place. Hilliard and Kwan’s late-game heroics instead helped the Wiz steal the victory.
The home run also set a new KBO record. Hilliard became the first foreign hitter in KBO history to record at least 40 home runs and 120 RBIs in his debut season.
With the home run, Hilliard became the second player this season to reach 40 home runs, trailing only Do-yeong Kim’s 41. He now leads the KBO with 126 RBIs.
Rescheduled games
The KBO announced that the remaining rescheduled games will be played from Oct. 8-12 as teams complete their 144-game schedules following several postponements.
The biggest series of the rescheduled games will be the Samsung Lions hosting the KT Wiz in Daegu on the final two days of the season, Oct. 11-12. The teams will also meet Oct. 7, when the Wiz will host.
KT holds a three-game lead, but Samsung still controls its own destiny with three more games against the Wiz. The Lions also have one more game remaining than KT over the remainder of the regular season.
The race could come down to the final days of the season.
Do-yeong Kim returns and immediately makes an impact for KIA
After delivering the game-winning hit to secure gold for South Korea at the Asian Games, Kim returned to the KIA lineup Tuesday and immediately made an impact.
In his first at-bat since his return, Kim homered in the first inning against Logan Allen to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in their showdown with the KT Wiz.
It was Kim’s career-high 41st home run as he continues his historic season at age 22. The home run also made him the all-time single-season home run record holder in franchise history.
Pedro Ávila continues brilliant season
Since his KBO debut on July 16, no pitcher has been as dominant as Pedro Ávila.
The former Padres, Guardians and Yakult Swallows pitcher put that dominance on full display Tuesday night.
In a game that had little meaning for the SSG Landers, who had already been eliminated from postseason contention, they hosted the No. 3-seeded LG Twins. The game was much more important for LG as the Twins looked to retain third place and avoid the wild-card series.
Ávila allowed just one run, on a solo home run in the fourth inning, and went the distance for a complete game with six strikeouts.
He was touching 98 mph in the ninth inning, and his final pitch was a 96-mph fastball that was called for strike three.
Since his debut, Ávila has posted a 1.56 ERA in 86 2/3 innings with 89 strikeouts. The solo home run he allowed in the fourth inning against the Twins was the first homer he had surrendered all season.
His two complete games are the most by a pitcher in the SSG franchise since Kwang-hyun Kim recorded two in 2010.
Ávila’s signing has helped transform the Landers after the team nearly fell to the bottom of the league. Since his debut July 16, SSG is 29-19-2.
With Ávila’s dominant season, he will be a pitcher to watch as he considers a potential return to the MLB system in 2027. However, he has also expressed interest in re-signing with the Landers for next season.
The weekend ahead
The KIA Tigers and LG Twins will battle in the final regular-season three-game series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
The stadium is slated to be demolished after the postseason and plenty is on the line this weekend in Seoul.
The Twins lead the Tigers by two games. Winning the series would give LG the tiebreaker over KIA should the teams finish tied and would go a long way toward securing the No. 3 seed.
The series is also significant because no KBO team has won the Korean Series after finishing below third place in the regular-season standings.
KBO Standings
KT Wiz 83-49-2
Samsung Lions 80-52-3
LG Twins 75-59-1
KIA Tigers 72-60-2
Doosan Bears 69-63-5
NC Dinos 62-72-2
Lotte Giants 61-72-2
SSG Landers 60-71-5
Hanwha Eagles 55-78-4
Kiwoom Heroes 47-88-4