Tigers defeat Twins to open KBO postseason series

Gwangju, South Korea – As the Korea Baseball Organization postseason intensifies, American pitcher Adam Oller will take to the mound for the Kia Tigers in Sunday’s pivotal matchup against the LG Twins. The Tigers aim to secure a second consecutive win in this best-of-five series, following a 5-1 victory over the Twins on Saturday. James Naile, the Tigers' starting pitcher, delivered a solid seven innings of one-run pitching, while top hitter Kim Do-yeong contributed two home runs to the Tigers' total.

Oller, who has yet to make his KBO postseason debut, finished second in the league with a 3.13 ERA and fourth with 180 strikeouts last season. This series will be Oller’s first postseason experience, as he went 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA in the regular season against the Twins, facing them more than any other opponent. He struck out 31 batters over 30 innings but allowed three home runs, one to each of Austin Dean, Moon Bo-gyeong, and Oh Ji-hwan.

On the other side of the diamond, Im Chan-kyu of the LG Twins leads the league with 15 wins but has struggled with a 4.46 ERA, his worst since 2022. Im also has a 0-1 record against the Tigers in the regular season, including one game in the final contest on Monday where he surrendered two runs in 3 1/3 innings. Im delivered two home runs himself during that game, one to Park Jae-hyun and the other to Na Sung-bum.