“Finally, it’s time” — KIA Tigers unveil starting lineup for Wild Card Series Game 1! “Kim Sun-bin at No. 2 spot; Kim Gyu-seong and Ha Ju-seok form the double-play combination” [Wild Card Series Game 1 On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The KIA Tigers have revealed their starting lineup for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series (best-of-five) against the LG Twins.

KIA will face LG in Game 1 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Wild Card Series at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field at 2 p.m. on the 17th.

KIA finished the regular season in third place to secure a spot in the Wild Card Series. After taking a four-day break following their final regular-season game against LG on the 12th, they are set to play their first fall baseball game of the year against LG.

Facing them, LG finished the regular season in fourth place and advanced to the Wild Card Series after defeating the Doosan Bears in the Wild Card Decider. LG won Game 1 of the Wild Card Decider against Doosan at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th with a score of 4-1 to advance to the Wild Card Series. Although they played in the Wild Card series, they have had two days of rest after playing only one game.

On this day, KIA arranged their starting batting order as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Sun-bin (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Seung-beom (right fielder), Kim Gyu-seong (second baseman), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Kim Tae-goon (catcher), and Ha Ju-seok (shortstop). James Neal will be the starting pitcher. It is notable that Kim Gyu-seong and Ha Ju-seok are set to work together as the keystone combination.

Neal appeared in 31 games this season, recording a 13-7 record with an ERA of 3.49. Over a total of 183 innings, he allowed 175 hits (13 home runs), issued 38 walks, struck out 156 batters, and gave up 73 runs (71 earned). His WHIP was 1.16, and his batting average against was 0.252. He achieved a quality start (at least six innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs) on 20 occasions.

Against LG this season, Neal appeared in three games, posting a 1-1 record with an ERA of 4.58. Over a total of 17⅔ innings, he allowed 19 hits, issued 3 walks, hit one batter, struck out 16 batters, and gave up 9 runs (9 earned). His batting average against was 0.288.

Meanwhile, LG named Tolerhurst as their starting pitcher to face KIA. This season, Tolerhurst recorded a 12-11 record with an ERA of 4.24. Over a total of 163⅓ innings, he allowed 169 hits (16 home runs), issued 36 walks, struck out 126 batters, and gave up 79 runs (77 earned). His WHIP was 1.26, and his batting average against was 0.262. He achieved a quality start on 16 occasions. Against KIA this season, Tolerhurst appeared in five games, posting a 1-3 record with an ERA of 6.20. Over a total of 20⅓ innings, he allowed 27 hits (2 home runs), issued 4 walks, hit one batter, struck out 15 batters, and gave up 14 runs (14 earned). His batting average against was 0.307.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original