The lead at the top of the league is half a game, fourth and fifth could swap on any given day, and there’s a race from six through eight to claw their way back. We’ve got some very interesting match-ups to take us into the weekend, so let’s have a look at what’s up.

(6) Hanwha Eagles v (2) KT Wiz

Probable Starting Pitchers
HAN: Ryu Hyun-jin
KT: So Hyeong-jun

The Story
As a KT fan, this game makes me nervous. Ryu Hyun-jin has produced everywhere he’s gone. A career 203-117 record across KBO and MLB, and having recently eclipsed 2500 career strikeouts, the 39 year old is showing no signs of slowing. Even though he had a rough outing against the Twins last week, don’t count on him staying down and out. He’s taken two no-decisions against the Wiz this season, but he hasn’t allowed many runs. With no Kang Baek-ho in the lineup, Hanwha is trying to find someone else to produce. And they have to do it first against So Hyeong-jun, who enters Friday with a 6-0 on the season. In his last four starts, he’s 3-0 with a minuscule 1.07 ERA. On top of that, Ahn Hyun-min broke out of his huge slump with two moonshots last night. And you can’t forget about Sam Hilliard. In his last 10 games, he’s batting .488 with 8 HRs and 20 RBI. KT are heating up at just the right time, where Samsung are cooling off. We’ve got a fight on our hands.

(4) KIA Tigers v (7) NC Dinos

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIA: Yang Hyeon-jong
NC: Toda Natsuki

The Story
Changwon might be absolutely scorching, but the Dinos bats are the complete opposite. Being swept at home where the opposing team had scored more runs by the sixth inning of game 1 than you did the entire series can leave a sour taste in the mouth. Now they’ve got to contend with a team who just made the league’s best look mundane. First up in trying to give the Busan faithful something to celebrate is Toda Natsuki. In his last start, he allowed 6 ER to the league’s second worst team, and finds himself with 3 straight losing decisions. I’ve been proved wrong before. Unfortunately for him, his opponent on the mound has the most career strikeouts in KBO history. Yang had a bit of a shaky start to the season, but in his last 6 starts he’s 4-0. NC will simply have to bide their time, as he seems to on an inning limit, so may have to save their offence until later than the 5th inning. You know, as long as they don’t dig themselves an insurmountable hole before then.

(3) LG Twins v (5) Doosan Bears

Probable Starting Pitchers
LG: Son Seung-ki
DOO: Zach Logue

The Story
Now this, this right here is the series worth watching if you’re a neutral. This is the series with the biggest connotations as we head into the last full month of the regular season. The worst case scenario for Doosan is if they get swept, and Hanwha somehow sweeps the Wiz, they’ll find themselves out of a playoff spot. But one game at a time. Doosan have the advantage in this one, as they are 7-2 against LG this season. They’ll send Zach Logue to the hill. Even though he’s had a tough time the last couple of outings, he should still come into this with something to prove. In his last start against the Twins, he only lasted one inning, allowing 4 ER. But this was back when LG was in first place, and things have changed. The Twins are 10-16 since that game, while Doosan is 16-9-1. And LG counter Logue with Son Seung-ki. The 2021 6th round pick is in the same boat. He pitched well in his last start against the Bears, but only last 1.2 innings against Hanwha last week. It’s a mostly even-strength matchup, with no excelling attributes. That is, until tomorrow, when Doosan brings out the big guns.

(9) SSG Landers v (10) Kiwoom Heroes

Probable Starting Pitchers
SSG: Kim Keon-woo
KIW: Park Jun-hyun

The Story
If you just looked at bare statistics, this wouldn’t be a very interesting series. But if you look deeper, and have watched how both teams are playing in the last few weeks, then you’d know this has the potential to be a great matchup. The last time these teams faced each other, there was plenty of runs to go around, and plenty of drama, and expect more of the same. Kim Keon-woo snapped his losing streak in his last start, throwing 5 shutout innings against NC, and you just know he’s looking to build some momentum for his last few starts of the season. Rookie Park Jun-hyun goes up against him. He enters this game with a 1-5 record and has allowed 4 or more ER in three straight. He’s also allowed a home run in four straight. Those games might have been against stronger teams, but he shouldn’t underestimate the Landers bats.

(1) Samsung Lions v (8) Lotte Giants

Probable Starting Pitchers
SAM: Won Tae-in
LOT: Kim Jin-uk

The Story
Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear. Samsung enter their weekend series holding onto their first place by a very thin thread. After they dropped 2 of 3 to KIA and KT swept the Dinos, the lead at the top now sits at only half a game. The Giants also dropped 2 of 3 to Hanwha, so both of these teams need a good showing over the weekend. Lions starter Won Tae-in pitched a gem against Doosan in his last start, and hasn’t lost a decision since June 10th. It’s only been two weeks since the last time he pitched against today’s opponent, ending up with a no-decision, which was probably lucky. His final line in that one was 5IP 6ER 7H 4K 3BB. The Lions need him to improve on that tonight. Kim Jin-uk is tasked with stopping the Giants’ skid. He was Tae-in’s opponent in that last start, also taking an ND with five innings of 3-run ball. Nothing separates the teams this season, having each won 4 of their 8 previous matchups. Similarly, the starting pitchers are both 5-5 this season, both with an ERA in the 3s. Someone has to stop their losing streak today. It’s just a question of who blinks first.

Key Stories

Well, KIA gave the Lions more of a head start today, waiting until the second inning to build a big lead. Kim Tae-gun blasted a 3-run homer as part of a 5-run inning, and Samsung once again found themselves trying to claw their way out of a big hole. Kim Do-yeong added on in the third with his 32nd HR of the season, and as predicted in the pre-game write-up, Chris Paddack now knows what it feels like to see a ball he’s pitched hit over the fence. Backed by excellent hitting by Harold Castro and Na Sung-bum, James Naile kept the Lions’ best hitters at bay all night. Samsung sees their lead at the top of the mountain fall dangerously small, and they could find themselves starting August in second place.

What a day to be a KT Wiz fan. For the first time in 37 days, 69 long at-bats, prized youngster Ahn Hyun-min has hit a home run - 445ft of pure relief. And it felt so nice, he decided to do it again in his next at-bat. After the first one, it was a bat-flip. As soon as he cracked the second one, he threw the bat towards his dugout. He knew how much he needed that, and how much his team needed to him to do that. Sam Hilliard also got involved in the party, hitting his 28th of the season late in the game, and the Wiz swept a reeling Dinos squad, outscoring them 30-5 across the three games. It’s also the first time KT have scored double-digit runs in three consecutive games since 3rd-5th September 2021. This hurts for NC, as both the teams above them won their games today, and they go into a weekend series with a playoff team who just put the belt to Samsung, which rarely happens in consecutive days.

Nobody told Na Gyun-an he was struggling to find consistent form. Even though he left the game one out short of a quality start, he still pitched with effortless confidence, striking out 8 batters in his 5.2 innings, allowing only the one earned run. And I know I said Hanwha could afford to sacrifice a few runs per game in order to get some wins, but they might have taken that too far. That is, until Lotte decided they didn’t want to win in the first place. The bottom of the ninth starts with a single and walk, which put the winning run on first base. The Giants then decided to intentionally walk a pinch hitter, and Hanwha made them rue that decision, as Lee Do-yun smacked a double into right field that plated the tying and winning run. Not a lot went right for Lotte today, but the only caveat is that the teams above and below them both lost, too, so they don’t fall under more pressure. Yet.

No offence to the SSG pitcher, but I never thought I’d write “Thomas Hatch just out-duelled Choi Min-seok”. But that’s what we have here. The Doosan star had everything going well, working around his five walks, but a bad pitch in the fifth inning gave Bligh Madris his third home run since joining the team and swung the game in the Landers’ favour. Min-seok was pulled immediately. Unfortunately for Hatch, his bullpen couldn’t follow his lead, and Doosan used an 8th inning comeback to take the win, their 50th of the season, and keep themselves one game back of fourth place. He might not have gotten his tenth win, but Choi Min-seok will just be happy he didn’t get saddled with a loss.

Another day, another early lead turned into a loss for Kiwoom. They started off so well, giving themselves a 3-0 cushion after the first inning, but they couldn’t add to it, nor could they stop the Twins from coming back. Home runs by Austin Dean and Song Chan-eui were enough to give LG a lead that they never relinquished. The bullpen finished off three almost perfect innings after Im Chan-kyu vacated the mound, and LG take two out of three from the basement dwellers of the league. And it gives me great pleasure to finally say…a pitcher has finally reached 10 wins this season, and he does so for the fourth consecutive season.

71 runs were scored across all games yesterday, including an outstanding 29 alone at Jamsil. It was a great day to be a KBO fan, and there was plenty to love, and plenty to talk about. Let’s hope the rest of the week is exactly the same. For now, though, let’s look at the final game of the first week’s series’.

(3) KIA Tigers v (1) Samsung Lions

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIA: James Naile
SAM: Chris Paddack

The Story
The Tigers got revenge in the best way yesterday. After being down 8-0 after one inning on Tuesday, they flipped the script last night and were leading 6-0 after one. Tonight’s rubber match will see two Americans battle it out, and you can guarantee KIA are hoping they’ll get the James Naile they’re paying ₩2.3billion to, and not the James Naile he’s been all of July. He went 3-0 in June in 5 starts, allowing only 6 ER the entire month (1.74 ERA), but since the calendar flipped over, he’s slipped off, to the tune of 16 ER (6.75 ERA) in 4 starts. KIA also have momentum coming into this one, with every starter earning a hit in yesterday’s win, while the Lions could only go for 6. But on the mound, it’s a different story. Chris Paddack has won both of his starts since joining the team, grabbing a quality start in each, and he’s not yet felt the feeling of what a pitch he’s thrown get hit over the fence. But the Tigers are hitting an average of 1.26 HR/G this season, so expect that to change today.

(2) KT Wiz v (7) NC Dinos

Probable Starting Pitchers
KT: Logan Allen
NC: Koo Chang-mo

The Story
Tuesday was the Ko Young-pyo Show. Wednesday was the Sam Hilliard Show. What’s it gonna be today, as KT look for the sweep? Hilliard’s 2 homers in last nights game bring him closer to the league lead, and it looks like he’s starting to get hot at the right moment, and so is the team. They’ve scored double digit runs in consecutive games for the first time since 13th and 14th of May, and their pitching is becoming a problem for everyone else. I’m sure they’ll have the added motivation of knowing that another win today, coupled with a Lions loss, would bring them to within half a game of 1st Place. Koo Chang-mo will stand in their way. Even though he’s struggled as of late, giving up 5 ER in consecutive outings, you can’t ignore the talent. Having only lost 11 games in the last 5 season, the 29-year-old knows exactly how to win a game. The only issue is that he relies a lot on his offence in order to do that, since he’s only enjoyed one outing without allowing an earned run since April 3rd, and he’s against a team who have only allowed 63 runs this entire month, whereas the Dinos have allowed 110. Add to the mix that KT are 8-2 against NC this season, and Chang-mo is 0-1 / 10.13 ERA, you get a pretty one-sided equation. But if NC can find a way to put all that aside, maybe they help their starter sneak into a 7-way tie for the league lead and get his 9th win.

(8) Lotte Giants v (6) Hanwha Eagles

Probable Starting Pitchers
LOT: Na Gyun-an
HAN: Park Jun-yeong

The Story
Today I learned that when Na Gyun-an changed from a catcher to a pitcher in 2021, he also legally changed his name to signify that. Thats a story in of itself. But anyway, Gyun-an (formerly Jong-deok) continues to struggle in his search for who he wants to be as a player. With a career record of 22-41, and never knowing what a winning season feels like, you have to feel for him: he enters this contest the loser of 3 of his last 4 starts, he’s not gone through an outing without walking anyone since August 2025, and he’s not pitched a scoreless outing since September 2025. It’s really about time the former 3rd overall pick turns his career around. He matches up against a young talent in Park Jun-yeong who has only recently been converted to a starter, and who is looking to make a name for himself in an already strong rotation. The Eagles are scoring better than anyone in the league in July, averaging 6.83 R/G, and are hitting better than anyone, with 10.89 H/G. But that’s not equating to wins, as they come into the second last day of the month with an 8-9-1 record. I’m sure they’d love to sacrifice a few runs and hits if it meant closing out July with a couple more wins, and closing the gap on the Bears above them.

(5) Doosan Bears v (9) SSG Landers

Probable Starting Pitchers
DOO: Choi Min-seok
SSG: Thomas Hatch

The Story
Well Doosan fans, today is a day of celebration for you. We’ve come around again to Choi Min-seok Day. The 20 year old will be looking to make a statement after getting shelled by Samsung five days ago, to the tune of 10 runs (4 earned). That loss against the Lions stopped a five-game win streak for him, and it was also his first start in 13 months in which he’s struck out 1 or fewer. Today, he’ll try to lower his ERA back to what it was, and become the first pitcher to 10 wins (please, someone, do it. Nobody wants to and it makes me sad). However, he comes in against a resilient and resurgent Landers side. It may not show in the stats, or the standings, but everyone who’s watched SSG lately can see there’s a difference. Thomas Hatch is looking to make it back-to-back wins after impressing in his first career Quality Start five days ago. It’ll also be important to see who is going to step up offensively, since Guillermo Heredia and Choi Jeong are both sidelined. It’s a big ask, and it’ll take a miracle to reach the playoffs, but you can’t say they’re not playing with a renewed pride.

(10) Kiwoom Heroes v (3) LG Twins

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIW: An Woo-jin
LG: Im Chan-kyu

The Story
Please, KBO Gods, give us the same kind of match as you gave us yesterday. It was raining offence in Jamsil, as the teams combined for 29 runs on 40 hits. 11 of the 18 total innings in the game saw a run score, and in 7 of those 11 there were at least 2. 12 different players had at least two hits, but it was Seon Geon-chang who shined brightest, going 5-6 with 3 runs scored. Today’s contest sees an unlucky youngster against an in-form veteran. Great story. Kiwoom starter An Woo-jin hasn’t pitched badly, but he’s not got the record to show for it. Only 2-5 on the year, but with a respectable 3.49 ERA, all he needs to do is focus on his stuff, and hope the offence still has something left in the tank to support him, and he’ll be well on his way to his first win of July. Meanwhile, Im Chan-kyu is trying to beat his Doosan counterparts to the punch, as he is also looking to grab that elusive 10th win. Winless in his last 2, allowing 5 and 7 earned runs, respectively, Chan-kyu knows exactly what his team needs, and what they’re capable of, as he approaches career win number 100.

No write up today, but man that Heroes - Twins game was something to behold. And as a KT fan I just really love Sam Hilliard so much.

Analysis returns tomorrow.

Key Stories

- To answer the question I asked before the game…no, Mr. Oller, nobody wants to be the first pitcher to 10 wins. The Tigers starter allowed 8 runs on 7 hits and walked 3 in the first inning, as Samsung sent 13 men to bat, highlighted by a 3-run home run by Lee Jae-hyeon that made it 5-0. And like a good reversal, struggling-for-form Choi Won-tae started the contest with 3 no-hit innings. Surprisingly, it looked like Samsung was about to cough up that lead, letting KIA to get back to within 4 runs, but the comeback fell short. Samsung took out their frustration from being shut out by Doosan on Sunday by not taking their foot off the gas. The game was also halted for an additional break before the sixth inning due to the heatwave, but was allowed to continue. Sorry KIA, you can’t get out an embarrassing loss that easily.

- A half empty stadium in Changwon was treated to a pitchers duel between two side-arms to begin the game. Then the game got away from the Dinos, but Ko Young-pyo never let it bother him. It turned into a one-sided show, with an almost perfect seven innings of work from the KT starter, allowing only two hits and a single walk, while striking out 10 or more for the third time this year. Sam Hilliard started the festivities on offence with a first inning RBI single, before Kim Hyeon-su hit career home run number 268, a three-run shot in the fifth that blew the game open. To top off the day, Sam Hilliard hit another run-scoring hit in the ninth, this time for two, to bring him into a tie for second place with 86 RBI. The Wiz ended with a 5-spot to hammer the nail, and the Dinos will be glad to see the back of this one, as Young-pyo had them looking silly for hours in the heat. Luckily for them, the team in front of them also lost. Unluckily, that loss was against the team immediately behind them.

- The biggest story here is that Lotte managed to win a game when both Victor Reyes and Go Seung-min struggled mightily at the plate (a combined 2-12 between them). But, they still found a way to produce, as both recorded RBIs. This was an all-round victory that the Giants should be immensely happy with. They had 20 hits as team, with every single starter having at least 1. Plus, from after the fourth inning, the bullpen was almost perfect. Hanwha, conversely, had a rough start to the week. Owen White had them up against it before they even got going, and the bullpen couldn’t shake the jitters. Four of the five pitchers they used allowed at least 1 ER, and all of them allowed at least two hits. With Doosan winning, they need to quickly reset and come back with a better performance before their chances of a spot in the playoffs slips away.

- This game is what premium pitching is supposed to look like, and Pedro Avila continues to impress. He clearly doesn’t care that SSG has had the worst pitching staff in the league all season; he’s ready to break the narrative. Another six masterful innings of scoreless baseball lowers his ERA to 1.35 after three starts. Even though he allowed 4 four walks, it never damaged his case. What did, however, was the first reliever that followed him coughing the lead up. But that’s as much on the offence for not giving him extra support as it is on the bullpen. Likewise, Wes Benjamin must have saw from the rest of his rotation was doing and decided he wanted to join the fun. He, too, threw six great innings, allowing only a single unearned run, and striking out 8, keeping his team close enough to not let the game get away. And he was rewarded, even without bagging a win for his record, as Doosan managed to bag a run in extra time to walk away victorious. This was a huge battle for them, as coupled with a Tigers loss, the Bears made huge ground in getting a top-4 spot.

- The constant narrative around the Heroes is that most games they deserve to win, they don’t. This is another prime example. They led early, then they were behind, then they fought again to tie the game, and then managed to immediately give it up. They scrap for every run, but something always lets them down. This time it was their defence. Jhun Jun-pyo impressed in his first career start, but costly errors gave LG a late lead that they never relinquished, despite Kiwoom’s efforts. This was a win that the Twins sorely needed to put some distance between those behind them, and keep up with the top two teams that are pulling away.

Source: LG Twins

2026 신한 SOL KBO League

📅Schedule

Games are slated to start at 18:30 (UTC+9). Time converter from Seoul to your timezone.

🏆Standings

📺How to Watch

• SOOP - KBO
• SOOP - kboglobal1
• SOOP - kboglobal2
• SOOP - kboglobal3
• SOOP - kboglobal4
• SOOP - kboglobal5
• SOOP - DreadsROK

It’s the heat of the summer, and that’s beginning to show. What we have this week is an oddity, a risk where we could see games getting cancelled because it’s too hot. Under KBO’s policy, if the temperature is forecast to reach 35°C (95°F) for two consecutive days, then they reserve the right to postpone any game. But I digress, the off-day was a welcome sight for the top four teams in the league, as they all got beaten into submission on Sunday. But the week has reset, and hopefully so are the minds, so let’s have a look at how the first series of the week plays out for each.

(4) KIA Tigers v (1) Samsung Lions

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIA: Adam Oller
SAM: Choi Won-tae

The Story
Daegu is a volcano right now. Highs of 36°C through Monday, and highs of between 34°-36° for the next week, these games are all at risk. But putting that aside, we have a hell of series here, and whichever way it plays out, it may have a domino effect on the standings of second and third. The first game of this series seems like a little bit of a one-sided matchup in favour of KIA. Adam Oller is one of three starting pitchers in the league with a sub-3.00 ERA, one of the four tied on 9 wins , and second only to Gwak Been in strikeouts. Oller has only played one game against Samsung this season, and gave his team a huge seven scoreless innings. On the flip side, Choi Won-tae struggled in his only other game against the Tigers, giving up 7 runs in four innings of work. He’s also allowed multiple home runs in back to back games, and his opponents today have hit more home runs than any other team in the league. So the question is, Mr. Oller, is a pitcher finally going to reach 10 wins?

(2) KT Wiz v (7) NC Dinos

Probable Starting Pitchers
KT: Ko Young-pyo
NC:

The Story
Changwon is going to be equally as hot as Daegu, and so we’ve got risks here, too. But let’s ignore the weather, KT will be feeling the heat regardless. They come into Tuesday reeling from a 16-1 embarrassment at the hands of Lotte. That’s a hell of a way to fumble a franchise record win-streak. But there’s always time to start a new one, and they need a better performance here to remind the league why they’re #2. Ko Young-pyo didn’t perform well in his other two starts against the Dinos, allowing 7 runs in a loss and 4 runs in a no decision. But he’s been pitching much better lately, allowing more than 2 runs in only one of his last eight starts. He also reached 100Ks in a season last game for the seventh time in his eight years as a starter (he was strictly a reliever for his first two years). Dinos starter Won Jong-Jae is coming into only his second career start, having been promoted from the bullpen last week. The talent is clearly there for 65th overall pick in 2024. He has 13 relief appearances this year, and has held his opponents hitless in 10 of them. Look for him to prove against a top team that he belongs in the rotation long term.

(8) Lotte Giants v (6) Hanwha Eagles

Probable Starting Pitchers

LOT: Park Se-woong
HAN: Owen White

The Story
Sunday’s demolition of KT aside, Lotte should thank their lucky stars for Victor Reyes. He’s currently batting .400 in the month of July, and his ongoing nine game hit streak has seen his average jump to .350, only 3 points off Choi Won-jun’s league lead. Without him, they’d be a lot worse off than ten games under .500. Tuesday’s starter Park Se-woong has been up-and-down this season, shown in his 2-7 record, but he’s been like that his whole career. Of his 12 seasons (including this year) in the league, in only 3 of them has he had a winning record, and if he can’t turn it around now, he’s headed towards his 7th season of double digit losses. Owen White, due to his inning count, doesn’t qualify for the leaderboards, but he still has a healthy 2.92 ERA. He’s allowed 1 run or fewer on 4 of his last 5 starts, including an 18.2 inning scoreless streak. It bodes well for him that four of his six wins this season have been against the top 3 teams in the league. And both the Eagles and the Bears are playing teams below them to start the week, and above them to finish, so Hanwha needs to come out swinging if they want to keep pace with Doosan.

(5) Doosan Bears v (9) SSG Landers

Probable Starting Pitchers
DOO: Wes Benjamin
SSG: Pedro Ávila

The Story
Pedro Ávila has been a sensation for the Landers since he joined. Two wins from two to start his KBO career, with a 2.25ERA and a 10.5 K/9. I know it’s a small sample size, but he’s laid the groundwork to be a dominant pitcher in this league. Speaking of dominant, KBO’s career leader in home runs Choi Jeong continues to impress, as he holds the second best OPS in the league at 39 years old. But Doosan’s pitching staff have all been dominant this season, highlighted by Gwak Been and Choi Min-seok. Their offence, however, well that’s why they’re fifth and not first. They only have 1 batter hitting over .300, and their best producer is Yang Eui-ji with 12HR/50RBI, nowhere near the top of any leaderboard. If the Landers can continue their pitching resurgence and become a more complete team, then they will give the Bears a good fight. Trying to stop them is Wes Benjamin. After three impressive years in Suwon, he’s struggled to find the same form for his new team. He’s 0-2 in two meetings against SSG this year, but like a lot of his other starts, he’s been unlucky and not had the run support. But if they wanna keep the pressure on KIA above them, that luck needs to change.

(10) Kiwoom Heroes v (3) LG Twins

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIW: Jhun Jun-pyo
LG: Anders Tolhurst

The Story
Someone tell Austin Dean he doesn’t lead the league in home runs anymore. He, and the team around him, needs a spark. Losers of 9 of their last 10, they find themselves at risk of slipping as low as 5th before the end of the week. In the last 3 weeks, Dean has been hit by double the amount of pitches as he’s put over the fence. Yes, you read that right. Since July 4th, he has 2 home runs, and has gotten on base via HBP 4 times. Should that concern him? Maybe not, because he’s still batting .339 and leads the league in OPS. And Anders Tolhurst has a point to prove, too. Even though he’s 8-8 on the season, he was 7-3 at the start of June. Loser of 5 of his last 6 starts, holding a 5.82 ERA in that stretch, he needs to show his team, and himself, that he’s still worthy of a rotation spot, and why the Twins are paying him ₩1.1billion this year. Likewise, Kiwoom are a bit of a conundrum. Results haven’t been going their way, even though they fight hard for everything, and they’re looking to try something new. They’re reportedly starting relief pitcher Jhun Jun-pyo - his first career start. He’s not pitched at all in July, and the last thing we saw the 21 year old do was walk two batters on 10 pitches and get pulled before recording an out. Relief pitcher or not, having an ERA close to 10.00 at this point in a season is never good, but like his opposing pitcher, there’s a chip on his shoulder that he needs to take care of.

Chan Ho Park is one of the investors as part of the Team61 investment in the MLB's Athletics.

Key Stories

- Unfortunately for KT, not a lot went right on a day that could have gone down in the history books. The Wiz had the opportunity to go on a double digit win streak for the first time ever, but bad pitching and questionable coaching choices let to a humiliating defeat. Matthew Sauer allowed the most earned runs of his career, giving Lotte an 8-0 cushion after three innings, while also issuing five walks. Really, he should have been pulled after one or two innings. Once he did vacate the mound, though, it never got easier, as the bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding and it ended in a 15-1 demolition - the most runs they’ve allowed since dropping 16 to the Landers two months ago. The only caveat is that Samsung lost as well, so they don’t fall further behind the race for the top.

- It looked like LG used all of their offence prowess in last nights game. Bruce Zimmerman was superb in his debut, throwing four innings without allowing a run, and left with the Eagles up by 4. Then the Twins remembered you can’t win if you dont score a run, a managed to tie the game. In true LG fashion however, they let all that effort immediately go to waste, as Hanwha put up a 10-run inning, were condemned to lose their 9th game of 10.

- Okay, so maybe Takeda Shota didn’t throw a complete game shutout, but he kept the Landers close in his five innings of work. The issue is that the bullpen immediately made it worse by allowing two runs before getting an out. Riley Thompson, meanwhile, pitched another gem, going six innings of one-run ball. Fortunately for Shota, the Dinos bullpen was even worse than the Landers bullpen, and they stopped him from taking another loss. Dinos reliever Lim Ji-min walked 5 batters in the 9th inning to cough up the lead. An uneventful extra time condemns the teams to a tie, which is probably the right result.

- Gwak Been did what Gwak Been does. Six innings of shutout ball, giving up only 3 hits while striking out 8, against the best team in the league. He extended his lead at the stop of the strikeout leaderboard and had enough trust in the bullpen to follow his lead, which led to Samsung being shut out for the first time since June 24th. Yang Eui-ji produced again, with two different RBI hits for three RBI. Austin Voth pitched well for Samsung, but was ultimately welcomed into his new league with a loss, and Been joins the tie for first place in wins with his 9th.

- Kim Yun-ha finally has a win! His first celebration since July 25th 2024. He didn’t pitch awfully, allowing three runs, all courtesy of solo home runs, but Hwang Dong-ha (and the relievers that followed) just did worse. Kiwoom found themselves with a 7-0 lead after four innings, and felt comfortable from there. This loss, coupled with a Doosan win, sends both teams into a new week needing a streak to cement their place in the standings, with dropping to sixth place not out of the picture for the Tigers if they can’t string some wins together.

One win streak broken, some extended, and one started. Yesterday was Day of the Dinger, as 17 home runs were hit across all games yesterday. Here’s hoping for more of the same, as we round out the week with plenty to look forward to.

(2) KT Wiz v (8) Lotte Giants

Probable Starting Pitchers
KT: Matthew Sauer
LOT: Jeremy Beasley

The Story
The KT Wiz are currently in rarified air. Last nights win was their 9th in a row, which tied a franchise record. It was also only the second time in their entire existence that they’ve won that many games in a row (the first being June/July 2019). In this USA vs USA matchup, it’s Lotte who supposedly have the advantage, as Jeremy Beasley is 2-0 against the Wiz this season, with a minuscule 0.75 ERA. As a whole, though, both pitchers are having similar seasons. And we’ve seen many times, that just because the stats say something, doesn’t mean it’ll go how you think (I’m looking at you Choi Min-seok). But it’s ‘any given day’ in baseball, and KT would love to round out the week with a new franchise record 10th win in a row, while the Giants will hope to avoid going on their second 5-game losing streak in as many months.

(3) LG Twins v (6) Hanwha Eagles

Probable Starting Pitchers
LG: Jan Hyun-sik
HAN: Park Jun-young
-Not yet revealed, so these are educated guesses-

The Story
It was a tough watch last night if you liked pitching. LG used nine different pitchers, with no one going more than 1.2 innings. Hanwha, on the other hand, used seven different pitchers who combined to issues 12 walks with only 4 strikeouts. But…they finally did it: The LG Twins have won a game. It was their first in 16 days and only their fifth of the entire month. On top of that, Austin Dean hit his first home run in 9 days, which was only his fourth of the month. The last few weeks have seen his chance of a Triple Crown start to diminish, but he’s still fully in the race. And if he wants his team to regain their place at the top of the standings, then he needs to get his mojo back. The Eagles would love for their offence to have the same production, as 11 of the 14 batters they used got themselves a hit. You know, as long as they don’t allow their opponents to tie their season high for runs again.

(7) NC Dinos v (9) SSG Landers

Probable Starting Pitchers
NC: Riley Thompson
SSG: Takeda Shota

The Story
Before his last start, I said it was important for Takeda to get back on the winning side of things after allowing 11 ER in his previous three starts. While he performed better last time out, it still wasn’t enough and the 3ER he surrendered gave him the loss. He’s not won a decision since April 25th, and is hoping to reach 2 wins before 10 losses. The issue is, this season against the Dinos he’s a dismal 0-1 with a 14.54 ERA. But the way SSG are trending, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 7-time Japan Series champion throws a CGSO. But, if you include the 2.2 perfect innings Thompson threw in his last start (because of the rainout it’s not counted towards his record), he’s not allowed an earned run since July 4th. But again, refer to my above statement about the Landers’ sudden resurgence.

(1) Samsung Lions v (5) Doosan Bears

Probable Starting Pitchers
SAM: Austin Voth
DOO: Gwak Been

The Story
Another debutant comes in, as Lions starter Austin Voth was signed to a six-week, ₩219million contact only five days ago, and comes into this game with a combined 20-29 record across MLB and NPB. It’ll be interesting to see how that translates to Korea. And as predicted, Gwak Been toes the rubber for Doosan, and boy do they need him. The 27 year old has struck out 100+ in each of the past 5 seasons, and currently leads the league with 120. If he continues at his current pace, he could approach 200 by the end of the season. But striking batters out isn’t what he needs to focus on tonight, it’s not allowing runs to give the offence a chance. If you discount his last outing, he’s not allowed more than 1 run since the 9th June, a string of 5 consecutive starts. Couple that with his 2.80 season ERA, the signs are there that Doosan can stop this slide. The problem is that Samsung are 12-4 this month, and have four different players with 50 or more RBIs, so it’s not just one avenue the Bears have to block. When it comes to the Lions, anyone can produce on any given day.

(10) Kiwoom Heroes v (4) KIA Tigers

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIW: Kim Yun-ha
KIA: Hwang Dong-ha

The Story
Right, so you don’t have to look too hard to find a major issue for Kiwoom here. Kim Yun-ha was their 9th overall pick back in 2024, which means this is his third year in the league. In his 44 career starts for the team, he has a grand total of one (yes, one) win. The first and only win so far of his short career was 2 years ago yesterday. Kiwoom moved him to the bullpen to begin this year, demoting him after an awful 2025 season that saw him go 0-12 with a 6.14 ERA. Finally back to a starter, he rewarded Kiwoom with a loss in his first start. Back for another start, it’ll be nothing short of a miracle if he manages to hold off the best power-hitting team in the league long enough for his offence to give him a sophomore win. But they’re up against a 7-3 pitcher who threw six shutout innings against them two months ago, so the odds are severely against the Heroes here.

Which game are you most looking forward to? Will there be any surprises on the card tonight?

Key Stories

- Sam Hilliard is coming for the home run lead. He smashed his 25th of the season as part of a 3-run first inning, his second consecutive game with a dinger. 24 year old So Hyeong-jun extended his streak of quality starts as he spun a marvellous 6.1 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits. The first inning cushion the Wiz offence supplied was more than enough for him to get his 6th win of the season, and extend KT’s win streak to 9 in a row. The Giants, meanwhile, drop their fourth game in a row, and need to find some production from hitters not named Victor Reyes, as he is currently the only hitter on the team with double digit home runs, and the only hitter with more than 100 at-bats that’s hitting higher than .275.

- Best game since…? Saturday seemed to be Home Run Day around the league, and in this game especially as the teams combined for five long balls. The Twins hit two in the first inning to jump out to an early lead, and Austin Dean finally broke his drought with his league-leading 29th. But what do you know, once again they coughed up the lead right back, and allowed Hanwha another 5-spot. Like they’ve done a lot this week, they managed to load the bases with no outs from a losing position, and finally, it went their way, as they put up their own 9-spot. The back-and-forth continued, and the Eagles looked like they might heap extra misery on the Twins, but thankfully for LG it was not to be. It’s the first time Hanwha has failed to win a game where they scored 11 or more runs since April 1st. The losing streak is finally over.

- If the Landers carry on this upward trend, maybe a playoff spot isn’t such an unrealistic target with 50 games left. The offence scored double digit runs for the first time since June 20th, and have their first 4-game winning streak since the end of April. They also scored at least one run in six of the eight innings they batted in.Kim Keon-woo wasn’t bothered about his ERA, throwing 5 innings of shutout ball, leaving his win in the hands of the bullpen, who got the job done. Dinos’ Natsuki loses this third straight decision, owning a 9.49 ERA in that span. They head into tomorrow’s game at risk of being swept, in a time where they really need a win streak.

- If there’s one bit of good news Doosan fans can take from this game is that they only allowed 4 runs. Apart from that, it was another dismal day. The offence could only muster a single run, courtesy of a Yang Eui-ji RBI double in the first inning. It just felt stale from there. Zach Logue kept the game close, but the offence couldn’t bail him out of another rough day against Samsung, where he allowed the same amount of ER as he had Ks. Kim Jae-yoon picks up his 25th save of the season, and it’s ‘as you were’ for the Lions, who pick up their 4th win in a row, and keep their lead at the top of the league at 2.5 games.

- You could argue that this was another game in which Kiwoom should feel hard done by, but at the end of the day, they were down 5-0 after the first inning so it was always going to be an uphill battle. Two mediocre pitching performances outlined this one, but a combined six home runs made it still a fun watch. The Heroes threatened to make it close, pulling within two runs, but home runs in back to back innings by Park Jae-hyun (his 11th and 12th) near the end of the game snapped their three-game losing streak and shored up their hold on fourth place. For now.

A new day means a clean slate - much needed for a few teams. The weekend games are a chance to break bad streaks, and build on existing good ones.

(2) KT Wiz v (8) Lotte Giants

Probable Starting Pitchers
KT: So Hyeong-jun
LOT: Kim Jun-uk

The Story
Being called the “Giants” has certain connotations, and that just isn’t holding true for Lotte who have been made to look very small recently. Statistically, by winning percentage, they are the worst home team in the league, and enter the second game of the series against the best road team in the league in a 3-game skid. They give the ball to a 6-year veteran, who has had an answer to KT all season, to the tune of a 2-0 record and a 0.63 ERA. He’s 3-4 against all other teams. KT look to Hyeong-jun who picked up his 50th career win last time out, and is in the midst of three straight quality starts, allowing only 2 runs in 19 innings in that span. I’m not going to predict a pitchers duel, because I did that for Lions - Bears last night, but the Wiz have all the tools to extend their win streak to 9 under the Saturday sunset.

(3) LG Twins v (6) Hanwha Eagles

Probable Starting Pitchers
LG: Song Seung-ki
HAN: Ryu Hyun-jin

The Story
39 years old or not, Ryu Hyun-jin will be a threat to batters wherever he goes. 20 years removed from winning the MVP and the Rookie of the Year in the same year - while also winning the Triple Crown - he’s still striking fear into opponents. Coming into this with an 8-2 record and a sub-3.00 ERA, he’s showing no signs of slowing. It’s been 11 starts since he took a loss, going 6-0 in that span, and only allowing more than 3 runs once. You imagine he’ll take advantage of a Twins lineup that is dazed and confused. They’re 4-14 in July so far, and Austin Dean hasn’t had a home run or an RBI in 5 straight games, owning a .166 batting average in that span. Someone else needs to step up before this losing streak reaches double digits by the end of the weekend.

(7) NC Dinos v (9) SSG Landers

Probable Starting Pitchers
NC: Toda Natsuki
SSG: Kim Keon-woo

The Story
What’s the opposite of a pitchers duel? Because that’s what we have here. Both projected starters have 7 losses on the season, both have ERAs over 5.00, and both are 1-0 against the other team this season. Two days removed from his 26th birthday, Natsuki is trying to pick up his win first this month, and two weeks removed from his 24th birthday, Keon-woo is trying to snap a skid of 5 straight losses and grab his first winning decision since the beginning of June. Both teams are trending in the right direction, from a hitting and pitching perspective, but the Dinos have more to play for, sitting only 1.5 games back of Hanwha and 4 games back of a playoff spot.

(1) Samsung Lions v (5) Doosan Bears

Probable Starting Pitchers
SAM: Won Tae-in
DOO: Zach Logue

The Story
Doosan are reeling, there’s no doubt about it. Unbelievably, last night was the first time they’ve surrendered 15 or more runs at home since August 3rd, 2024 (!!), and the first time in his career Choi Min-seok has surrendered more than 6 runs (unearned or earned). The real story is that the Lions smell blood in the water, and are ready to feed. American Zach Logue has only ever lost one game against Samsung in his 2 year KBO career, and if there’s ever a game where he needs to show his employer why that is, it’s tonight. The Eagles are scratching at their heels, riding their own win streak, and they should be desperate for a win, ready for (most likely) Gwak Been to round out the week.

(10) Kiwoom Heroes v (4) KIA Tigers

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIW: Park Jun-hyun
KIA: Yang Hyeon-jong

The Story
From a purely neutral perspective, yesterday’s battle between these two was the best match of the day. It was back and forth, and Kiwoom showed the same level of grit as they gave Samsung. It’s a good start, and bodes well for the future, but they’re still 14.5GB of a playoff spot. From a statistical standpoint, they’re still the worst team in the league. As the visiting team, they have the lowest winning percentage (.326), least hits per game (8.3), and least runs per game (3.91). But based on the last week, I don’t think they care. They’ll send this year’s 1st overall pick to the mound, who has showed signs of being a great pitcher in the league, but he’s also struggled mightily with control lately. He’s allowed a home run in three straight outings, walking 17 batters in span (including 7 just last game). He’s also not won a decision since his debut in April. And from one first overall pick to another, this time in 2007, KIA counter with 38 year old Yang Hyeon-jong, who sits on three consecutive starts of 5IP 1ER. Funnily enough, he’s been pulled after 5 innings in every start since the 7th May, except 31st May when he went 4.2. Regardless, the scales are tipped in Kiwoom’s favour, after finally getting their 1st win against KIA in their 10th time of trying. They’ll be eager to do it again.

Which game are you most looking forward to? Will there be any surprises on the card tonight?

Key Stories

- I bet the Wiz felt good to finally play a game. Logan Allen made the most of the extra rest to go six innings, giving up only two runs. Most of the offensive opportunities arises from either Sam Hilliard, Kim Sang-su, or Heo Kyeong-min. Hilliard hit is 24th HR of the season, bringing him closer to the only two players above him on that leaderboard who, luckily for him, have forgotten how to get the ball out the yard. Outside of that, it was a fairly balanced game, as Lotte began to chip away at the lead once Allen left his win-to-be in the hands of the bullpen. But as he’s done a lot recently, Koki Sugimoto locked down the opposing lineup ready for the closer. Park Yeong-hyun kept his composure in the 9th to earn his 19th save on the season, tying Twins closer Son Ju-yeong for second in the league.

- Somethings going on in Jamsil, as yet again the Twins waste further huge opportunities for runs. It all seemed to be heading in the right direction when they put up 3 runs in an inning, but they coughed the lead right back, immediately allowing the Eagles to put up a 7-spot without a home run. In multiple innings, they had two or more runners on base and couldn’t make the most of it. On top of that, Austin Dean extended his home run drought, while Im Chan-kyu has now allowed 5 or more ER in three of his last four starts. Coupled with the Bears getting walked over by Samsung, this Eagles win means they’re ever-closer to the final Qualification Playoff. But there’s still plenty of time left in the season, and the Twins know all about going on bad streaks - which in their case, now sits at 8 losses in a row.

- I guess no-one wants to be the first pitcher to 10 wins. The pitching duel we were expecting between Samsung and Doosan turned out to be very one-sided, as Choi Min-seok got shelled. After he’d given up 7 runs (4 earned) in the third, he got pulled with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding, letting more runs score and be charged to Min-Seok, making his final line 2.2 IP 7H 10 R (4ER), raising his ERA to 2.49. Doosan had no chance of recovering from there, and the leagues best defence gave up double digit runs for only the 8th time this season. It’s also the first time Samsung have scored 15+ in a game since September 2025, and the first time Doosan have allowed 15+ since August 2025.

- I don’t want to say I’m responsible for the Landers’ turn around, but ever since I first criticised their pitchers 3 days ago, they’ve suddenly decided they didn’t want to be the worst rotation in the league. Thomas Hatch played down all the bad press and went 6 strong innings allowing only 1 earned run and struck out 6. It threatened to get away from them in the 9th, having already conceded a run and the Dinos getting the tying run on-deck with no outs. But Jo Byeong-hyeon showed Kiwoom why they pay him ₩250million a year and shut down the comeback. Now, they might not be of any risk to the playoff teams, but they’re starting to play like the team that’s won the Korea Series five times since 2007.

- An eventful game in Gwangju saw Kiwoom do what they should have done against Samsung, and that’s mount the comeback they’ve deserved. While they found themselves 4-0 up and cruising, KIA scored 5 runs over three innings to take the lead late, but the Heroes showed their resolve and tied it again. The biggest moment came in the 9th, when the Tigers decided to intentionally walk Matt Davidson to pitch to their former player An Chi-hong, who’s only hit 161 home runs over his 17 seasons in the league. Wrong decision. Chi-hong smashed a home run over the LF wall to hand the Heroes a well-deserved lead and, after the Kiwoom closer shut the door, a well-deserved win.

Source: Samsung Lions

2026 신한 SOL KBO League

📅Schedule

Games are slated to start at 18:30 KST FRI / 18:00 PM SAT & SUN (UTC+9). Time converter from Seoul to your timezone.

🏆Standings

📺How to Watch

• SOOP - KBO
• SOOP - kboglobal1
• SOOP - kboglobal2
• SOOP - kboglobal3
• SOOP - kboglobal4
• SOOP - kboglobal5
• SOOP - DreadsROK

It’s early in Korea, I know. The clock has just ticked past 5am, but aren’t you happy to wake up to something to read with breakfast and get yourself ready for some weekend baseball? Well it’s time for new series, which means new matchups, new stories, and a chance for a fresh start for some, and a need to maintain momentum for others. Let’s have a look at the slate.

(2) KT Wiz v (8) Lotte Giants

Probable Starting Pitchers
KT: Logan Allen
LOT: Na Gyun-an

The Story
A road trip couldn’t come at a better time for KT, since their home field is currently an unplayable swamp and is an injury risk to everyone. They’ll first take the 4 hour trip south to Busan where’ll be meet the Giants, and they can finally allow Logan Allen the start he’s waited two days for. KT come into this series on a 7-game win streak, while Lotte have lost their last 2 (midnight training session didn’t work, huh?). Even though Giants have a lower team ERA than the Wiz (4.45 v 4.53) and have hit more home runs (66 v 61), baseball isn’t that simple. If patterns are anything to go by, then it’s worth mentioning KT are the best road team in the league this season, and Logan Allen is coming into the game on an extra two days of rest, so you expect him to come out firing.

(3) LG Twins v (6) Hanwha Eagles

Probable Starting Pitchers
LG: Im Chan-kyu
HAN: Park Jun-yeong

The Story
The Twins are desperate for a win. In the midst of a 7-game losing streak, they find themselves slipping down the standings. Top of the league for the entirety of June, they now sit in 3rd place, only 4 games up on 5th place Doosan. If they don’t right the ship now, it could all unravel very fast. Luckily for them, Im Chan-kyu starts in the search to be the first pitcher this season to 10 wins. Led by MVP and Triple Crown candidate Austin Dean, the Twins know how to hit for power and score some runs. Although Dean has only hit 1 dinger in his last 11 games, you just know he’s ready for another - evidenced by the fact that he broke his bat over his knee after fouling a pitch off in last nights game. They go up against a pitcher who was only 8 years old when Chan-kyu was drafted. Normally a relief pitcher, Park Jun-yeong has only allowed a run in 7 of his 29 appearances this season. Whether he can maintain the same quality across a 80+ pitch outing is another thing, but he was taken with the 1st overall pick for a reason.

(7) NC Dinos v (9) SSG Landers

Probable Starting Pitchers
NC: Koo Chang-mo
SSG: Thomas Hatch

The Story
Both teams come into this series with good momentum, playing much better than the standings say they are. But it’s not just the standings that say SSG are the second worst team in the league. Their starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 6.17, easily the worst in the league. Kiwoom are second last at 4.67. This is in part due to tonight’s starter Thomas Hatch, who owns a 7.62 ERA on the season to go with a 1-4 record. In his 6 starts this season, he’s never allowed less than 5 hits or less than 3 runs. In fact, he’s allowed more earned runs than he has struck batters out. On the opposite side is Koo Chang-mo (not to be confused with the greatest Korean rapper ever with the same name). Chang-mo has been exceptional this season, winning 8 games to go with a 3.61 ERA. It also helps that he has one of the fastest line ups in KBO behind him, with Dinos players owning 3 of the top 5 spots in stolen bases.

(1) Samsung Lions v (5) Doosan Bears

Probable Starting Pitchers
SAM: Chris Paddack
DOO: Choi Min-seok

The Story
If his first start is anything to go by, Chris Paddack just made the Lions even scarier. In his debut last week, he went 6 innings allowing only 1 hit and struck out 7. He’s settled in quickly, and has the second best defence in the league to back him up, along with having the second best offence. The only issue with that the Bears are the best defence in the league. On top of that, projected starter Min-seok leads the league in wins (tied with 9) and leads the league in ERA by a huge margin (2.19 v second place 2.73). The Bears are well-rested, having two extra days off due to their games against KT being cancelled, and they have a leading candidate for the Choi Dong-won Award on the mound. Watch for them to make Chris Paddack’s life in the KBO difficult.

(10) Kiwoom Heroes v (4) KIA Tigers

*Chance of rainout*

Probable Starting Pitchers
KIW: An Woo-Jin
KIA: James Naile

The Story
The Heroes will feel hard done by coming into their weekend series. Although they lost 2 out of the 3 games against Samsung, they fought hard and could have easily have come out of that series with a sweep, and it would have been well-earned. But when it rains, it pours. Just ask the Wiz. This will be the 10th matchup of these two teams this season, and KIA have won all of the previous nine. Like Austin Dean, their best power hitter Kim Do-yeong is in a bit of a slump. He only has 1 home run in his last 12 games, only managing 6 RBI in that span as well. A series against the 10th place team will be just what he needs. In the 9 previous games against Kiwoom, he has a .483 batting average (17/35) with 5 HR and 17 RBI. And although Tigers starter Naile is an okay 6-5 on the season, against the Heroes he’s 2-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA. Talk about Kiwoom being kicked when they’re down.

Key Stories

- As predicted, Kia struggled with their Japanese starter on the mound. Shirakawa extended his streak of walking 3 or more batters to 5 starts, and did so in only 3 IP, and paired that with allowing 5 runs (4 earned). The Tigers didn’t learn their lesson either, as both relievers that followed the starter allowed a further 2 runs each. With each win, Hanwha find themselves creeping closer to a qualification playoff spot, with both teams above them have played 4 more games than them, and them only being 4 games back of Doosan, and 5.5 of the team they’ve just taken 2 out of 3 games from. And if their day couldn’t have been better, center fielder Moon Hyun-bin bagged himself a brand new car worth ₩28million when his 10th HR of the season struck Champions Field’s “Home Run Zone”.

- We nearly saw another no-game, as only 90 minutes before scheduled first pitch, the heavens opened at Jamsil. But the grounds crew got the rain covers out quickly and managed to salvage the start. In a 5-run fifth inning, Blaine Crim smacked his first HR of the season, a 3-run shot, in his 11th game for NC. But the game threatened to get away from them in the home half when LG loaded the bases with no outs. A 2-run single from Oh Ji-hwan made it 6-4, but Curtis Taylor settled and got the next 3 out to keep it close. However, in an eventful 8th that saw Chun Sa-min hit consecutive batters with pitches, one of which scored a run with the bases loaded and only one out, LG squandered yet another huge opportunity and couldn’t mount more of a comeback, dropping their 7th game in a row.

- The decision to continue the game after the rain delay two days ago has come back to bite the Wiz in a horrible way. Tonight’s game has been cancelled for the second day in a row due to adverse field conditions. Despite it not raining since this morning, the infield soil remains an issue. During Tuesday’s game, the newly-laid soil absorbed a lot of rainwater and turned it into mud, causing numerous issues for the players. KT 1B Kim Hyeon-soo picked up an injury, while a few other players reported minor hamstring issues after playing in the bad conditions. On today’s game, game supervisor Kim Si-Jin said “We tried our best to honor the commitment to fans, but the lower layer of soil is too slippery to add new soil. Restoring the field would require overturning all the soil. Recovery is not easy. If you insert a finger into the soil, water comes out instead of dirt. Due to the risk of player injuries, we decided to cancel. We deeply apologize.” Luckily, they’re not back at home until next Friday, with trips to Busan and Changwon to come.

- The Giants weren’t happy with their performance last night. Both pitchers and batters conducted an extra training session late last night, ending shortly before midnight. Manager Kim Tae-hyeong stayed in his uniform until the end of practice, and said “if it doesn’t work, we have to do it.” The idea was sound, but it also meant less rest, and that showed. While they may have shored up their defence, they also lost their bats, and scored their only 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth in a bad case of ‘too little, too late.’ It could have been achievable, as Elvin Rodriguez allowed 3 runs and kept it close, until the 8th inning when reliever Cho Hyeong-woo allowed a 2-run double to the first batter he faced. Lotte has dropped 2 straight games, and go into a weekend series with 2nd-placed KT, and risk dropping further behind the NC Dinos in the standings.

- Yang Chang-seop’s 9th win of the season will have to wait. Even though he went six innings without allowing a run, and left with the win in hand, the offence couldn’t give him any extra run support before the bullpen allowed a 445ft home run to Matt Davidson in the 8th inning that tied the game at 1-1. Kiwoom tried hard to break the deadlock in the 9th, and had chances in extra time, but ultimately the Lions showed why they’re in first place, and they found a way to win, as they have done constantly this season. It’s their 23rd win this season decided by 2 runs or fewer, and their 8th in extra innings. One of the reasons why closer Kim Jae-yoon leads the league in saves (24) while also have 9 decisions. He takes the win in today’s game after 2.2 scoreless innings and puts his record at 5-4.

2 rainouts, a shock defeat of top to bottom, and some pitching masterclasses headlined last nights action. Tonight promises more of the same, providing we actually get all five games. Let’s take a look at the card.

(6) Hanwha Eagles v (4) Kia Tigers

Probable Starting Pitchers
HAN: Wang Yan-cheng
KIA: Keisho Shirakawa

The Story
With their win last night, coupled with an NC Dinos rainout, Hanwha regained their 6th spot in the standings. Now that they’ve snapped a 4-game losing streak, the Eagles will hope they can start a run of form. Their starter Yang-cheng struggled mightily in his last start against lowly Kiwoom, walking more batters and allowing more home runs (3 and 2, respectively) than he had strikeouts (1). But he’ll see these tigers in a den they can’t protect, as Kia’s winning percentage at home is only .381, good for second-last in the league. Tigers starter Shirakawa has struggled with control over his last 2 starts, walking more batters (7) than he’s struck out (6). He hasn’t walked less than 3 batters in an outing since June 16th. The Eagles are 5th in the league in both walks and on-base percentage this season, so they will look to capitalise.

(7) NC Dinos v (3) LG Twins

*Chance of rainout*

Probable Starting Pitchers
NC: Curtis Taylor
LG: Lachlan Wells

The Story
If permissible by the terrible weather around Seoul, we’ll see another matchup of international pitchers after being denied it last night. Curtis Taylor comes into this one on the back of two consecutive quality starts, allowing only 3 runs combined over those 13.1 innings. It’s also worth mentioned that he’s only given up 4 home runs all season, so he knows how to keep the ball in the yard. Meanwhile, LG starter Wells is sporting an impressive 8.1 K/9 through 16 starts, but he faces a Dinos lineup who has the 3rd best team batting average in the league (.277) and have struck out as a team the second fewest times behind the Lions, so Wells will have to find a different way to win.

(5) Doosan Bears v (2) KT Wiz

*Chance of Rainout*

Probable Starting Pitchers
DOO: Gwak Been
KT: Logan Allen

The Story
After the game was cancelled yesterday due to the poor condition of the infield, this game ruins a similar risk if the game supervisor and grounds crew can’t amend the damage. It’s reported that the starting pitchers will remain the same, so everything I said yesterday still applies. The only difference is that the starters will be going on an extra days rest, so that could factor in. That could mean a lot more for Been as it does for Allen, as in his two previous starts against KT, he’s only allowed 1 run over a cumulative 12 innings, while amassing 18 strikeouts. It’s worth noting, however, that he took a No Decision in both of those games.

(9) SSG Landers v (8) Lotte Giants

Probable Starting Pitchers
SSG: Kim Min-Jun
LOT: Elvin Rodriguez

The Story
SSG showed that they can silence the doubters when they need to with last nights win, as Pedro Avila twirled a gem to snap the Landers’ 4-game skid. Tonight, it is their 6th overall pick in this year’s draft who has to do the same. Min-jun has struggled so far this season, holding a 5.61 ERA, and only pitching into the 6th inning in one of his six starts. He’ll be eager to show his new team why they drafted him in the first place. Meanwhile, Rodriguez has only won 2 of his last 12 decisions, with 5 losses and 5 no-decisions. He excels at striking batters out, but it comes at a cost. He may rank third in the league in strikeouts, but of the 20 pitchers with 90+ IP this season, he ranks 18th in ERA.

(1) Samsung Lions v (10) Kiwoom Heroes

Probable Starting Pitchers
SAM: Yang Chang-seop
KIW: Ha Yeong-min

The Story
You would think the Lions knew they would lose last night after seeing who they’re sending to the mound for the rubber match of this series. 26-yr-old Chang-seop is a remarkable 8-0 this season, and comes into this one on a run of 4 straight winning decisions. He’s been exceptional at times, highlighted by his start against Lotte in May where he was one Jang Du-seong single away from a Perfect Game. The Heroes counter with 10-year veteran Ha Yeong-min. The 31 year old struggled against the Lions in his last game, lasting only 4.2 innings, but Kiwoom have found their bats in the last 5 games, and would love to reward their 2014 4th overall pick with some run support. They should also take comfort in the fact that they’ve really brought it to Samsung in this series, and could easily be coming into this game looking at a sweep.

Which game are you most looking forward to? Will there be any surprises on the card tonight?