KIA Tigers moved within one victory of the Korean Series playoff round after beating the LG Twins 6-3 in Game 2 of their best-of-five semifinal series on Sunday. KIA won both games at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field and will take a 2-0 series lead to Jamsil, leaving LG needing three consecutive victories to advance.
- Final score
- KIA Tigers 6, LG Twins 3
- Series position
- KIA leads the best-of-five series 2-0
- Next game
- Game 3 at Jamsil on October 20
KIA decided the game with a five-run first inning against LG starter Lim Chan-gyu. Park Jae-hyun singled and stole second before Kim Do-young drew a walk, and consecutive run-scoring hits from Castro, Na Sung-bum, Kim Sun-bin and Han Jun-su rapidly opened a 5-0 lead. Lim recorded only one out before leaving with five runs allowed. KIA collected six hits in the inning, matching semifinal-series records for hits in an inning and consecutive batters with hits.
KIA starter Adam Oller protected the early advantage with six innings of two-run pitching. He allowed six hits and one walk or hit batter while striking out eight. LG scored through Koo Bon-hyeok in the third inning and Park Hae-min in the fifth, but Oller prevented either rally from developing into a larger comeback.
Jeon closes the door after LG's late push
The Tigers added an insurance run in the seventh. Park doubled, advanced to third on Kim's fly ball and scored on Na's sacrifice fly after Castro was intentionally walked. LG reduced the deficit to 6-3 in the eighth when Moon Jung-bin delivered a run-scoring hit, then put two runners aboard with two outs.
KIA responded by bringing in Jeon Sang-hyun, who struck out Lee Jae-won to end the threat. Jeon returned for the ninth and retired Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won and Koo Bon-hyeok in order, recording two strikeouts and securing his second consecutive four-out save. He was selected as the game's most valuable player.
The series position strongly favors KIA, although advancement is not yet settled. In the nine previous best-of-five semifinal series in which one team won the opening two games, that team advanced seven times. KIA can clinch with one more victory, while LG must reverse the series without another loss when play shifts to Jamsil for Game 3 on October 20.