Baseball season to resume this week after heat-forced stoppage

The South Korean baseball season will resume this week following a record-breaking heat wave that led to the cancellation of nearly every game last week. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) teams will return to action starting Tuesday across the country, after an unexpected summer break. Only three out of five games scheduled for the previous Tuesday saw play, prompting the league to cancel all remaining games for the week due to the extreme heat.

The KBO subsequently announced that all subsequent games will commence at 7 p.m. from now on, as opposed to the usual 6:30 p.m. weekday games and 6 p.m. weekend games during the summer. The first heat-related game cancellation occurred on August 1, with two games being abandoned, followed by another game the next day. The Kia Tigers and the NC Dinos have yet to play a game in August as a result of these weather-related interruptions, with their last games taking place on July 31.

Both clubs will kick off the new week at home; the Tigers will face Samsung Lions at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, while the Dinos will host KT Wiz at Changwon NC Park in Changwon. Both the Tigers and Dinos were in a precarious position in the days leading up to the mass cancellations and a midseason break could provide them with an opportunity to regroup and prepare for the stretch drive.

The Tigers are currently in fifth place with a record of 52-46-2, four games ahead of the Hanwha Eagles (47-49-3). The KT Wiz, who were on a six-game winning streak, are leading the pack at 59-36-2, while the Dinos are in seventh place at 43-50-2, trailing the Tigers by 6 1/2 games. After the Dinos series, the KT Wiz will return to Suwon to host ninth-place Kiwoom Heroes from Friday to Sunday.

The Doosan Bears, who had a three-game winning streak that pushed them past the Tigers for fourth place, will also close in on third place, currently occupied by the LG Twins (55-45-1), by a margin of 1 1/2 games. The Bears' schedule includes hosting the Eagles three times at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul followed by three games against the Tigers in Gwangju.

The Twins will remain in Seoul for the entire week, facing the Heroes three times at Gocheok Sky Dome and then three more games against the SSG Landers at Jamsil. The Lions, who were in first place in the final week of July, have slipped to second place, now trailing the Wiz by 1 1/2 games. Following their game against the Tigers, the Lions will host the Eagles in Daegu.