The Korean Baseball Organization is entering the final week of the regular season, with all previously postponed games being played.
KT Wiz clinch regular-season title and earn automatic berth to 2026 Korean Series
The KT Wiz entered Monday with a chance to clinch their first pennant since the 2021 season and their first berth in the Korean Series since 2023 with a win and a Samsung Lions loss.
The Wiz hosted the Lotte Giants on Monday night. In a game that meant a lot to the Wiz and very little to the Giants, the Wiz jumped on Lotte early.
In the bottom of the first, after putting runners on first and third with one out, Sam Hilliard and Sang-su Kim delivered doubles to give the Wiz a 3-0 lead. After a two-out RBI infield single made it 4-0, No. 9 hitter Jun-won Jang delivered the big blow of the inning with a three-run homer over the left-field fence to make it 7-0 and put the Wiz in complete control.
With a big lead, KT starter Logan Allen went to work and produced the best single-game performance of his KBO career. He went eight innings and allowed seven hits, no runs and a career-high 14 strikeouts. It was just the second time in his KBO career that he had gone eight innings and his first since June 28, 2025.
The Wiz got another home run from Jang in the sixth to extend their lead to 8-0. It was Jang’s second multihomer game of the season and the third of his career. Hyun-min Ahn hit a solo home run of his own in the seventh.
The Wiz took a 9-0 lead into the ninth. Yong-ik Mon came in and threw a perfect ninth for the 9-0 win over the Giants.
After the win, fans stayed to watch the end of Samsung’s game against the Doosan Bears, while the players watched from the clubhouse. After Doosan held on for a 7-5 win, the clubhouse and crowd erupted as the Wiz officially became the regular-season champion and secured their place in this year’s Korean Series. The players ran onto the field to celebrate with their fans.
As for the Lions, they know they will be the No. 2 seed and will only have to win one series to advance to the Korean Series as part of the KBO’s step-ladder playoff format.
KIA Tigers surge ahead of LG Twins
The KIA Tigers met the LG Twins from Saturday through Monday in the final three-game regular-season set at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The Twins entered the series with a two-game lead over the Tigers but were on a five-game losing streak.
After the Tigers took the first two games, the Twins needed a win to maintain a one-game lead with just five games remaining in their season. A Tigers win would give KIA the sweep and move the team one game ahead for third place in the KBO.
With the game scoreless in the first, the Twins got an RBI single from Jeong-bin Moon to break the tie. Bo-gyeong Moon followed with an RBI single of his own to make it 2-0. With the bases loaded and two outs, Ju-heon Lee stepped to the plate and delivered a clutch two-run single to give the Twins a 4-0 lead after an early offensive explosion.
It remained 4-0 until the fourth. In the top of the inning, after putting runners on second and third with one out, Ho-ryung Kim drove in two with a two-run single to right field to break through against Twins starter Anders Tolhurst.
The Tigers got a little closer in the sixth after a throw in the dirt could not be scooped by Austin Dean at first, allowing a runner to cross home plate.
That 4-3 lead carried into the ninth, when Woo-suk Go came into the game to seal a crucial win and push LG’s lead for the No. 3 seed to a full game once again. After getting the leadoff hitter out, Go allowed back-to-back singles before recording a strikeout.
That set the stage for 22-year-old superstar and potential 2026 MVP Do-yeong Kim. He hit the 0-1 pitch just over the left-field fence for a go-ahead three-run home run with the Tigers down to their final out.
Yeong-tak Sung threw a perfect ninth for a 6-4 Tigers win.
The devastating loss increased the Twins’ losing streak to eight games, and the sweep lifted the Tigers into third place with just a week remaining in the season. Third place is a crucial position, as no team has won the Korean Series without finishing in the top three since the current format was adopted in 2015.
Do-yeong Kim making closing push to take home MVP
A game after his game-changing three-run homer in the ninth, Kim delivered another three-run home run Tuesday to give the KIA Tigers a 3-2 lead over the Samsung Lions.
It was his 43rd home run of the season, extending his career high and the KIA Tigers’ franchise record. He currently leads the KBO with an 8.73 WAR, and the MVP race with Austin Dean should come down to the final weekend. The two are scheduled to face off on the final night of the regular season.
Twins move back into a virtual tie with Tigers
After the Tigers took over third place over the weekend, the Twins had a chance to move into a virtual tie Tuesday night.
The Samsung Lions came back from a 4-2 deficit with three runs in the seventh and eighth innings for a 5-4 win.
The Twins jumped all over the NC Dinos in the first inning. Austin Dean delivered a three-run homer to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. It was his 41st home run of the season and gave him 127 RBIs. The 41 home runs are an LG Twins franchise record, and he is five RBIs from tying his franchise record of 132. He currently sits third in the KBO in RBIs.
Two batters later, Bo-gyeong Moon crushed a 433-foot solo home run to make it 4-0.
The Twins added single runs in the second and sixth innings, and starter Si-won Park allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings as the Twins cruised to a 6-1 win to snap their eight-game losing streak.
They moved into a virtual tie and sit percentage points behind the Tigers for third place, with a final game scheduled for next Monday night in Gwangju between the two teams.
The days ahead
The Doosan Bears and LG Twins will play Wednesday night in Seoul. It will be the final regular-season matchup between the two Seoul franchises at Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
The Bears trail the Twins by two games. A Twins win ensures the Twins and Tigers cannot fall lower than fourth.
The wild-card series between the fourth- and fifth-place teams is a best-of-three series, with the fourth-place team starting with an automatic 1-0 lead.
Víctor Reyes and Won-jun Choi make KBO history
Prior to 2026, only two hitters in KBO history had recorded 200 hits in a season. Geon-chang Seo had 201 hits in 2014 with the Heroes before Víctor Reyes broke that record with 202 hits in 2024.
On Tuesday night, for the first time in KBO history, two batters reached 200 hits in the same season.
After reaching 200 hits in the fourth inning with a single off Been Gwak, Lotte Giants outfielder Reyes collected his 201st hit on a solo home run off the Doosan ace to tie the game in the sixth inning. He is two hits away from breaking his own single-season record.
In a year featuring an unprecedented race for the all-time single-season hits record, KT Wiz center fielder Won-jun Choi also reached 200 hits Tuesday.
Leading off the top of the third against the Kiwoom Heroes, Choi doubled down the right-field line. He followed that with a fourth-inning single to give him 201 hits on the season.
He became the first KT Wiz player to top 200 hits and just the fourth player in KBO history to reach the mark. With less than a week left in the season, Choi and Reyes will likely both break the previous record.
KBO standings
KT Wiz — 87-49-5 — clinched regular-season title and Korean Series berth
Samsung Lions — 83-54-3 — clinched playoff berth and No. 2 seed
KIA Tigers — 75-62-2 — clinched playoff berth
LG Twins — 76-63-1 — clinched playoff berth
Doosan Bears — 73-64-5 — clinched playoff berth
SSG Landers — 63-73-5
NC Dinos — 63-76-2
Lotte Giants — 61-75-3
Hanwha Eagles — 57-81-4
Kiwoom Heroes — 49-90-4