(ATTN: ADDS details from para 7, photos)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The Kia Tigers are moving on in the South Korean baseball postseason after sweeping the defending champion LG Twins with a rout on the road Tuesday.
Slugger Kim Do-yeong launched a grand slam as part of a seven-run second inning, and starter Keisho Shirakawa tossed five strong innings while striking out a season-high nine batters, as the Tigers clobbered the Twins 13-1 in Game 3 of their best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
With this three-game sweep of the 2025 Korean Series winners before a sellout crowd of 23,650, the Tigers, the 2024 champions, will now move on to take on the Samsung Lions in the next series, also a best-of-five showdown.
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers celebrates after hitting a grand slam against the LG Twins during Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
Na Sung-bum smacked two solo home runs, and Han Jun-su added a solo shot of his own. Every member of the Tigers' starting lineup had at least one hit and scored at least one run -- making them just the fourth team to do so in a postseason game.
The Tigers outhit the Twins 16-8.
The Tigers-Lions series, a rematch of the 2024 Korean Series, starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu.
Kia Tigers starter Keisho Shirakawa pitches against the LG Twins during Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
After putting up a five-spot in the first inning of Game 2 on Sunday, the Tigers scored seven times in the second inning Tuesday.
The Tigers had seven left-handed batters in the starting lineup against the right-handed Twins starter Carlos Carrasco. And one of those seven hitters, Na, drilled a solo home run to center field for a 1-0 lead.
On a 1-1 count, Na hammered a middle-middle fastball and sent it nearly 132 meters to center for his seventh career postseason home run.
Carrasco never recovered from that. After retiring the next batter on a flyout, an error, a single and a walk loaded the bases.
Park Jung-woo, another left-handed batter, slapped a single to left field to push the Tigers' lead to 2-0, and that spelled the end of Carrasco's night.
Left-handed reliever Jon Kennedy was brought in to prevent further damage, but left-handed Park Jae-hyun poked a single through the hole on the left to make it a 3-0 game.
Kim Do-yeong then put an exclamation mark with a grand slam to center field, his third home run of this series.
Na Sung-bum of the Kia Tigers hits a solo home run against the LG Twins during Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
The ball traveled 145 meters, tying for the longest postseason homer since recordkeeping began in 2000.
Given an early seven-run cushion, Tigers starter Keisho Shirakawa cruised through four innings, giving up just one hit and striking out six batters with an effective mix of four-seam fastballs and sliders.
Park Jung-woo pushed the Tigers' lead to 8-0 in the top of the fifth with an RBI single against Kim Jin-su, the fourth Twins pitcher of the game.
The Twins tried to mount a rally in the fifth as Moon Bo-gyeong led off with a single, but Shirakawa struck out the next three batters to kill any hope of a comeback.
Na launched his second solo home run of the game in the sixth, which extended the lead to 9-0.
The Twins knocked Shirakawa out of the game with a single and a double to open the bottom of the sixth. But with nobody out and runners at second and third, the Twins eked out just one run, on a groundout by Austin Dean.
The Tigers reclaimed their nine-run lead in the seventh, thanks to Han Jun-su's solo home run -- the team's fourth dinger of the game.
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 Twins tried to creep back into the game in the bottom of the seventh, as they loaded the bases with two outs. But defense shone this time for the Tigers, as first baseman Harold Castro made a diving stab on a sharp grounder by Park Hae-min and tossed to pitcher Lee Eui-lee, covering the bag for the final out.
The Tigers piled on three more runs in the eighth, with Han Jun-su drawing a bases-loaded walk and Park Min cashing in two runners with a double.
The Twins' elimination made this the last official game played at Jamsil, which opened in 1982 and will be torn down after this season for a new dome.
Kia Tigers players celebrate their 13-1 win 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)
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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