By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- The Kia Tigers clinched the third seed in the upcoming South Korean baseball postseason with a victory over the LG Twins on Monday in their regular-season finale.
Superstar slugger Kim Do-yeong smoked a tie-breaking two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju, as the Tigers prevailed 4-2 to close out the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season.
The Tigers finished with a win-loss-tie record of 79-63-2, 1 1/2 game ahead of the Twins (78-65-1).
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the LG Twins during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Oct. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
By virtue of finishing third, the Tigers also earned a direct ticket to the best-of-five first round in the postseason. The Twins will play in the wild card round against the fifth-seed Doosan Bears on Wednesday.
The two teams share Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul as their home. As the higher seed, the Twins only need a tie or a win in two attempts to advance. The Bears, though, must win two straight games to reach the next round.
The wild card was introduced in 2015 and only once has a fifth-seeded team upset a fourth seed -- the KT Wiz over the Bears in 2024.
It will be the final postseason series between these Seoul rivals at Jamsil, which will be torn down after this year to make room for a dome.
Kia Tigers players celebrate their 4-2 win over the LG Twins in the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Oct. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
In Monday's showdown in Gwangju, the Tigers and the Twins traded solo home runs early -- with Park Jae-hyun launching one for the Tigers in the bottom first and Park Dong-won responding for the Twins in the top second.
Kim Sun-bin's bunt single with runners at the corners helped the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the bottom fourth, but Moon Jeong-bin launched a solo shot for the Twins to tie the score at 2-2 in the top sixth.
Then in the bottom eighth, Kim Do-yeong further cemented his MVP case with the clutch home run off reliever Jon Kennedy.
It was Kim's league-leading 45th home run of this season and also his 100th career dinger. The 2024 regular-season MVP is considered among the top contenders for this year's award, too.
Kim Sun-bin of the Kia Tigers puts down a bunt against the LG Twins during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Oct. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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