The end of August has arrived in the KBO, with the top five teams continuing to pull away from the rest of the league.

The fifth-place Doosan Bears lead the NC Dinos by eight games, with the Dinos six games back in the loss column. The Dinos have five games remaining against the Bears, with games scheduled for Sept. 12-13 and Sept. 29-Oct. 1. The Dinos have played the fewest games in the KBO thanks to several postponements and will have to make up ground as they chase the Bears, KIA Tigers or LG Twins for a playoff spot.

For the Bears, Been Gwak turned in another solid performance as he chases history among Korean pitchers in the KBO. He leads the KBO with a 2.36 ERA and 169 strikeouts and is tied for third in wins with 11. There has not been a Korean pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown since 2011, and only three Korean pitchers have accomplished the feat in KBO history. Gwak took another step toward that achievement against Kiwoom on Saturday.

Gwak went six innings with eight strikeouts and allowed two runs. In the first inning, he struck out former MLB hitter Keston Hiura with a 99.6 mph pitch, the fastest pitch thrown in Gwak’s career.

Gwak will be eligible to be posted by the Doosan Bears after the 2027 season. Only four Korean pitchers have ever been signed through the posting system, and Gwak would be the most notable Korean arm to be signed through the system since the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Hyun-jin Ryu in 2012 to a six-year, $36 million deal.

Seoul Rivals Set for Final Regular-Season Series at Historic Venue - Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the only KBO stadium that has hosted games since the league’s inaugural season in 1982, is set to be demolished after the season. On Tuesday, its two tenants, the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, are set to play their final regular-season series at the historic ballpark.

They will play one final makeup game on the last day of the season, Oct. 7.

In this final three-game set, a lot will be on the line. The Bears sit in fifth place at 61-52-4 and are just two games behind the defending champion LG Twins for fourth place.

After making seven straight Korean Series appearances from 2015-21, the Bears have not won a single playoff game since.

Samsung Lions Reclaim First Place - The Samsung Lions had a big week. After going 3-0-1 against the Kiwoom Heroes and KT Wiz, they reclaimed first place in the KBO by a half-game over the Wiz.

Against the Wiz, Games 1 and 3 were postponed until September, but Saturday’s game went ahead. It featured a matchup between two former MLB pitchers, with Chris Paddack starting for the Lions and Logan Allen taking the mound for the Wiz.

In the first inning, Samsung struck first on Ja-wook Koo’s RBI single.

Young-woong Kim made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the second. Min-ho Kang delivered an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-0.

The hit helped Kang reach 3,800 career bases in the KBO. He became just the sixth player in KBO history to reach the milestone.

Koo added another run for the Lions to make it 4-0, and the Samsung pitching staff took care of the rest. Paddack went six shutout innings with seven strikeouts, frequently working around trouble.

The score remained 4-0 until the top of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Yoon-suk Oh delivered a two-run homer to give the Wiz some signs of life. That would be all the damage they could do in the ninth. Lions closer Jae-yoon Kim slammed the door and gave Samsung a huge win to take over first place.

The Samsung Lions and KT Wiz have two makeup games remaining. They will meet Sept. 9 in Daegu. On the final night of the regular season, the Lions will travel to Suwon to take on the KT Wiz.

That matchup could very well be for not only the top spot in the KBO but also an automatic berth in the Korean Series.

KT Wiz reliever Kyu-min Woo is on the verge of history this season. The 41-year-old has made 898 career appearances in the KBO. He has made 41 appearances in 2026, posting a 2.76 ERA over 32 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts.

He needs just two more appearances to become the third pitcher in KBO history to reach 900 appearances and the first right-handed pitcher to accomplish the feat.

Austin Voth Finding His Stride - After some big-time struggles to start his time with the Lions, when he allowed 12 runs and 22 hits over 12 innings, Voth has come alive in his last two starts.

With Ariel Jurado’s return imminent and Voth likely to be released to make room for him, Voth needed some big starts to prevent that change from happening now. He has delivered.

On Aug. 19 against the SSG Landers, Voth went five innings, struck out 12 and allowed two runs to earn his first win with the Samsung Lions. The 12 strikeouts marked the first time in his professional career at any level that he had struck out 12 batters in a start.

He followed that up with another solid start against the Kiwoom Heroes on Saturday. Voth went six innings, struck out eight and allowed two runs. It was the first quality start of his KBO career.

Voth will start Tuesday against the Lotte Giants. His contract has been extended through Sept. 15 after he initially joined the team as a six-week injury replacement for Jurado.

With Jurado ready to step back in if needed, Tuesday’s start will be a critical one for Voth. So far, he is answering the challenge and looking to earn an additional two starts after Tuesday night.

KBO Standings
1. Samsung Lions 68-44-3
2. KT Wiz 66-43-3
3. KIA Tigers 63-50-2
4. LG Twins 64-51-1
5. Doosan Bears 61-52-4
6. NC Dinos 51-58-2
7. Lotte Giants 50-61-2
8. Hanwha Eagles 49-62-3
9. SSG Landers 48-65-5
10. Kiwoom Heroes 42-76-3