By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- It was a complete team effort in a literal sense.
The Kia Tigers destroyed the LG Twins 13-1 to complete a three-game sweep of their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday. Every member of the Tigers' starting lineup had at least a hit and scored at least a run, making them only the fourth team to do so in postseason history.
Kim Do-yeong had the biggest hit of them all with his second-inning grand slam, but manager Lee Bum-ho also gave a thumbs-up to the rest of the lineup.
Kia Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho returns to the dugout after his team's 13-1 win over the LG Twins in Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
"I think we have a culture developing in this team where every hitter wants to get a hit and get on base," Lee said. "The players are taking great care of themselves to stay in top form. If only one player gets going, you can only score so much in baseball. But when everyone is chipping in, you can put up a bunch of runs on the board. And that can put pitchers in comfortable spots. I think our hitters had a really sharp focus today."
On the mound, starter Keisho Shirakawa held up his end of the bargain, striking out nine and holding the Twins to a run on four hits.
"I was ready to pull him after the first couple of innings if he struggled, but he had great stuff today and did not look nervous at all," Lee said of the Japanese pitcher. "It almost felt like he had been gearing up all along just for this game. I am very grateful for his performance today."
The Tigers will now move on to face the Samsung Lions in the next round, another best-of-five affair. This will be the rematch of the 2024 Korean Series.
Two years ago, the Tigers prevailed in five games to win the championship. This time, with the Lions having posted a better regular-season record at 83-58-3 (wins-losses-ties, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Tigers, Lee insisted his team will be the underdog.
Kia Tigers players celebrate their 13-1 victory over the LG Twins to win the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
"The Lions are the better team, but we have nothing to fear. We will try to be as aggressive as we can," Lee said. "We have to have fun on the field and set the tone early against them. They have great starting pitching, and their offense is excellent. They are clearly the superior team, and we will try to put up our best fight."
The reward for sweeping the Twins is a four-day rest before the start of the next series for the Tigers -- a rare opportunity during a postseason to regroup and reset the starting rotation. This will allow Lee to send his two best starters, James Naile and Adam Oller, on regular rest for the first two games against the Lions.
"I didn't think we would be able to sweep the Twins," Lee admitted. "These four days will be extremely valuable for us. Since we will be up against a really good team, we have to use this time wisely to get ready for a tough series."
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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