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(LEAD) Defending baseball champ Kia Tigers earn last postseason spot

All News 23:13 October 12, 2018

(ATTN: ADDS comments in paras 18-22)

GWANGJU, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- The Kia Tigers, the defending South Korean baseball champions, squeaked into the 2018 postseason on Friday as the last seed.

The Tigers defeated the Lotte Giants 6-4 in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season action at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul. The Tigers improved to 70-73 with one game remaining to secure fifth place in the 10-club league and reach the wild card game.

The Giants kept their flickering hopes alive with a 4-0 win over the Tigers on Thursday, but blew a 4-3 lead by allowing three runs in the bottom seventh on Friday. The Giants fell to 68-72 plus two ties.

Members of the Kia Tigers celebrate clinching the fifth and last postseason spot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after a 6-4 victory over the Lotte Giants in a regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)

Members of the Kia Tigers celebrate clinching the fifth and last postseason spot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after a 6-4 victory over the Lotte Giants in a regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)

In the wild card game scheduled for next Tuesday, the Tigers will face the fourth-ranked team on the road. That spot is still up in the air, with the Hanwha Eagles leading the Nexen Heroes by one in third place with one game left on Saturday.

The Eagles can lock down the third spot with a win Saturday. But if the Eagles lose and the Heroes win Saturday, they will finish with an identical 76-68 record and the Heroes will get the third seed on a tiebreaker.

The two teams tied the season series at 8-8, but the Heroes outscored the Eagles 101-70 in those 16 games.

In the wild card game, the fourth-seeded team will get two cracks at getting one win, while the fifth-ranked team must win two straight games to advance.

If the fourth-seeded team beats the Tigers next Tuesday, then that club will reach the first round of the playoffs against the No. 3 team.

But if the Tigers prevail Tuesday, they'll have to win another game the next day to advance to the next round.

No fifth-place club has won the wild card since its introduction in 2015.

In 2016, the Tigers defeated the LG Twins 4-2 in the first wild card game, but lost 1-0 the following day to be eliminated.

An Chi-hong of the Kia Tigers bats against the Lotte Giants in a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)

An Chi-hong of the Kia Tigers bats against the Lotte Giants in a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)

Last year, the Tigers posted the best regular season record to earn a bye to the Korean Series, the KBO's equivalent of the World Series. Then the Tigers knocked off the two-time defending champion Doosan Bears in five games for their first KBO championship since 2009.

In Friday's game, the Tigers scored three runs in the bottom first, with An Chi-hong's RBI single and Kim Joo-chan's two-run double.

The Giants responded in the top fourth with Jeon Jun-woo's solo shot. Then in the top of the sixth, Jeon Byeong-woo's double and an error by Kia shortstop Kim Sun-bin made it a 3-3 tie.

Jeon Jun-woo launched his second homer of the day in the seventh, a go-ahead solo blast off new pitcher Kim Yun-dong.

But the Tigers had more offense left in them. With two outs and men at the corners in the bottom seventh, Choi Hyoung-woo delivered a game-tying single. An Chi-hong then broke the 4-4 tie with a two-run double.

The Giants drew consecutive one-out walks in the top ninth, but Jeon, representing the go-ahead run at the plate, hit into a game-ending double play.

"This was a tough game, but everyone came together to pull out this victory," said Kia manager Kim Ki-tai. "I'd like to thank our fans for their support throughout the season. We've had a disappointing regular season, but hopefully we'll play better in the postseason."

An, who came through with the key double in the seventh, said the Tigers were confident they could rally from their deficit.

"After losing yesterday's game, we were under a great deal of pressure to win today," An said. "But we tried to forget about all of that and just keep our composure."

Last year, the Tigers went directly from the regular season to the Korean Series. This year, if they are to repeat as the champions, they'll have to take several extra steps to even reach the final.

"I believe no team plays with more focus in key situations than our team," An said. "It's going to be an exhausting run physically, but I think we can play well in the postseason."

The Bears clinched the best regular season record in the final week of September. They earned their 92nd victory of the season on Friday, and if they win their final two games, the Bears will break their own single-season wins record set in 2016.

The SK Wyverns will finish the regular season at No. 2 and will move directly to the second round.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)

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