Twins defeat Bears in regular-season finale at stadium set for demolition
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- The LG Twins defeated their Seoul rival Doosan Bears 7-5 in their final regular-season game at a stadium set for demolition after this year, securing at least the fourth seed in the upcoming postseason in the process.
The Twins improved to 77-63-1 (wins-losses-ties) and will not finish lower than fourth place regardless of their results in their remaining three games. The Twins may still catch the Kia Tigers for third place.
The Tigers stayed in third place Wednesday with a 76-62-2 record after defeating the Lotte Giants 12-4.
The Bears, now 73-65-5, have locked down the fifth spot.
The Tigers have four games left, including one against the Twins on the last day of the season Monday.
In the Korea Baseball Organization, the top five clubs advance to the postseason each year. The fourth seed and the fifth seed meet in the wild card round, while the No. 3 team advances directly to the first round.
The No. 2 team gets a bye to the second round, and the pennant winner receives a direct ticket to the Korean Series.
Lee Jae-won of the LG Twins celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Doosan Bears during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 7, 2026. (Yonhap)
Despite featuring two starting pitchers tied for the league lead in wins with 14 apiece -- Choi Min-seok for the Bears and Im Chan-kyu for the Twins -- the game at Jamsil turned into a slugfest quickly.
Lee Jae-won launched the opening salvo for the Twins in the bottom of the second with a three-run bomb off Choi. Lee followed two straight singles with the majestic blast to straightaway center that traveled nearly 144 meters and struck the batter's eye.
The Bears punched right back with a five-spot in the top of the third, scoring all of those runs with two outs.
An Jae-seok's single got the first run across for the Bears. Then a single and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Kim Min-suk, who lofted a single to shallow right field for the game-tying, two-run single.
Both Kim and Yang Eui-ji took an extra base when right fielder Lee Jae-won made an unnecessary and wild throw to home plate. Kang Seung-ho then cashed in both runners for a 5-3 Bears lead with a single up the middle.
Only a diving catch by Park Hae-min on a sinking liner off Jo Soo-haeng's bat prevented further damage for the Twins.
LG Twins starter Im Chan-kyu pitches against the Doosan Bears during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 7, 2026. (Yonhap)
The Twins then pulled even in the bottom third. After two singles and a walk loaded the bases, Moon Bo-gyeong delivered a two-run single to right field to make it a 5-5 game.
The Twins caught a break in the bottom fifth to grab a 7-5 lead. With runners at first and second, Lee Jae-won smoked a grounder that struck the third base bag. Third baseman An Jae-seok made a last-second adjustment to field the ball but then bounced his throw to first. Both runners aboard scored as the ball skidded into foul territory.
With the Twins taking that lead, Im became eligible for his 15th win that would break a tie with Choi and another pitcher, Ko Young-pyo of the KT Wiz.
Im's teammates out of the bullpen took care of that, after four relievers limited the Bears to just one single over the final four innings.
LG Twins players bow to their fans after defeating the Doosan Bears 7-5 in their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 7, 2026. It was the Twins' final regular-season game at Jamsil, which will be demolished after the 2026 season. (Yonhap)
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