KBO's 2 best clubs to square off in Seoul
The two best clubs in South Korean baseball will test their mettle against each other when they square off for three games in the nation's capital this week.
The LG Twins, leading the Korea Baseball Organization at 33-18-1 (wins-losses-ties), will host second-place Hanwha Eagles (31-21-0) for a three-game set at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul starting Tuesday.
It is the most intriguing showdown in the league this week, one that many would not have circled in their calendar two months ago, after the end of the first three-game series between these two teams.
The Twins swept the Eagles at Jamsil in their March 25-27 series, outscoring their opponents 11-1 with a 5-0 shutout and then a 4-0 shutout in the first two games.
After those three games, the Twins improved to 5-0-0 for the season to stay in first place, while the Eagles fell to 1-4-0, tied with two others for the worst record in the KBO.
While the Twins have mostly maintained their supremacy despite some injury issues, the Eagles have completely turned their season around, on the strength of an eight-game winning streak followed not long after by a 12-game winning streak.
Since 2 1/2 games separate the two clubs, the Eagles can overtake the Twins for the top spot with a sweep this week.
Driving the Eagles' turnaround has been their starting pitching. Cody Ponce, their undisputed ace and the most dominant starter in the league so far, is in line to start Wednesday. He is tied for the KBO lead with eight wins and holds the outright leads in strikeouts (97) and ERA (1.63). The first-year American pitcher has not yet faced the Twins.
For the Twins, their top homegrown pitcher, Im Chan-kyu (7-1, 2.56 ERA), will be available during this series.
Im threw a complete game shutout against the Eagles in his season debut on March 26, when he allowed only two hits and struck out five.
Also for the Twins, Australian pitcher Coen Wynne will make his final KBO appearance Wednesday. He joined the club in late April as a temporary injury replacement for Elieser Hernandez, who is scheduled to be back Friday.
On offense, Twins slugger Austin Dean will try to extend his home run streak to five games. With 16 home runs, Dean is second in the KBO, four back of Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions.
After playing the Eagles, the Twins will bring home the Samsung Lions on the back end of their six-game homestand.
The Eagles will visit the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park for the Friday-Sunday weekend series. It will be the first set of games in the southeastern city of Changwon since March 29.
During a Dinos game against the Twins that day, a piece of aluminum panel fell from above a concession stand and struck an unsuspecting fan, who died of a head injury two days later.
Amid extensive safety inspections at the stadium, the Dinos spent the entire month of April and the first couple of weeks in May on the road. They settled on Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan, some 70 kilometers northeast of Changwon, as their temporary home starting May 16.
The Dinos played six games there before announcing last Friday that they will be back in Changwon this week.
The last-place Kiwoom Heroes made a big roster change last Monday, replacing outfielder Yasiel Puig with pitcher Raul Alcantara, who will make his KBO return this week.
Alcantara previously pitched for the KT Wiz and the Doosan Bears between 2019 and 2024, and will take on the Bears on Friday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)
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