LG Twins Eliminate Doosan Bears to Advance and face the KIA Tigers, Hanwha Announces New Manager

The LG Twins and Doosan Bears met Wednesday in Seoul in their wild-card series. The Twins received an automatic 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, meaning Doosan needed to win both games to avoid elimination.

In the must-win game, the Bears turned to their ace, Been Gwak, one of the favorites for KBO MVP honors. Gwak led the league with a 2.24 ERA and 197 strikeouts and set a record for strikeouts per nine innings by a Korean starting pitcher at 11.0. Former longtime MLB pitcher Carlos Carrasco took the mound for the Twins.

After a scoreless top of the first, the Twins had a runner on first with one out when superstar Austin Dean came to the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, Dean hit a two-run homer to left field to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Twins threatened to extend their lead in the second inning, loading the bases with nobody out. Gwak then showed why he was considered one of the KBO’s best pitchers this season. He struck out the next three batters, including Dean on a 98 mph fastball, to end the threat. Dean’s home run proved to be Gwak’s only blemish of the night. Gwak retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced and struck out 10 in six innings.

Not to be outdone, Carrasco delivered in his biggest start of the season. After a so-so regular season in which he posted a 4.05 ERA, Carrasco saved his best for the postseason. Through six innings, he allowed just two hits and no runs. After a leadoff single in the second, Carrasco retired 15 of the next 16 batters.

The Bears finally broke through in the seventh. Back-to-back hits to open the inning put runners on second and third with nobody out, prompting the Twins to turn to their bullpen with the tying run at second base.

Jon Kennedy entered for the Twins, looking to bounce back after surrendering what proved to be the game-winning two-run homer to Do-yeong Kim in the eighth inning Monday night. That victory clinched the No. 3 seed for the KIA Tigers.

The Australian left-hander struck out Min-suk Kim for the first out before hitting a batter to load the bases. Kennedy then allowed a sacrifice fly to Suk-hwan Yang, whose drive was tracked down near the warning track in center field.

Kennedy followed with a groundout to second base to preserve the Twins’ 2-1 lead through 6 1/2 innings.

Doosan threatened again in the eighth. After putting runners on first and second with one out, Woo-chan Lee struck out Yunior Severino and Seung-min Ryu to end the rally.

The Twins added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on the corners, Min-Jae Shin laid down a squeeze bunt and beat the throw to first base, scoring a run to extend the lead to 3-1. Shin suffered a hamstring injury on the play and had to leave the game. Two batters later, a wild pitch allowed another run to score, giving the Twins a 4-1 advantage.

Kang-ryul Kim entered in the ninth to close out the Bears and clinch the series. After recording a groundout and a flyout, Kim retired Dae-han Kim on a flyball to center fielder Hae-min Park to secure the 4-1 victory and send the Twins to the KBO semi-playoff round against the KIA Tigers.

The loss marked Doosan’s eighth consecutive postseason defeat. The Bears have won six KBO titles, the third most in league history, but have not won a postseason game since 2021.

Twins Seek Redemption Against KIA- The upcoming matchup with the Tigers gives the Twins a chance to redeem themselves against KIA. The defending champions lost to the Tigers seven consecutive times, including a three-game sweep and a defeat on the final night of the regular season that helped KIA secure the No. 3 seed and a bye.

The best-of-five series begins Friday, with KIA hosting the first two games in Gwangju. The matchup features the KBO’s past two Korean Series champions. The Twins defeated the Hanwha Eagles in five games last year, while the Tigers beat the Samsung Lions in five games to win the 2024 Korean Series.

This postseason, the Twins will try to make history by becoming the first No. 4 seed to win the Korean Series. Since the current format was adopted in 2015, only one No. 4 seed has reached the Korean Series: the Doosan Bears in 2021.

To repeat as champions, the Twins will have to accomplish something no team has done under the current format and win the Korean Series after finishing the regular season in fourth place.

Hanwha Eagles Name Ji-hyun Ryu Manager for 2027- The Hanwha Eagles have named Ji-hyun Ryu their manager for the 2027 season.

Ryu most recently managed South Korea’s national team at the World Baseball Classic and the Asian Games in Japan. He helped guide South Korea past the first round of the WBC for the first time since 2009 and led the country to its fifth consecutive gold medal in baseball at the Asian Games.

Ryu played for the LG Twins from 1994 to 2004, winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1994 and All-Star Game MVP in 1997. He managed the Twins from 2021 to 2022, leading the team to the postseason in both seasons.

Ryu will be tasked with getting the Eagles back on track after a disappointing 2026 campaign. Following a 2025 season in which Hanwha reached the Korean Series, the team struggled to a 57-83-4 record in 2026.

The departures of Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss to MLB, along with Dong-ju Moon’s shoulder surgery, dealt significant blows to Hanwha’s starting rotation. The team’s starters finished with the league’s second-worst ERA at 5.13, while the pitching staff as a whole allowed the most runs in the league.

Despite leading the league in home runs and ranking second in runs scored, Hanwha finished ninth in the standings. The Eagles went 11-37 from July 31 through the end of the regular season.