On the brink of elimination from the South Korean baseball postseason, the Kia Tigers put together a much different lineup Friday than the ones from their earlier games. The Tigers are trailing the Samsung Lions 2-1 in the best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization, having dropped two straight games after winning the first game Monday. The winner of this series will advance to the Korean Series starting next week. Manager Lee Bum-ho moved up his top three sluggers a spot each -- with

Samsung Lions infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk will never be mistaken for a power hitter. In 1,221 regular-season games over 15 years in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Ryu has hit just 23 home runs. And in 38 postseason games before Thursday night, Ryu had zero homers. Ryu's breakthrough dinger came at an opportune time for his club. His two-run home run off Kia Tigers starter Keisho Shirakawa gave the Lions a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth in Game 3 of the second round in the KBO postseason. Alt

With his Kia Tigers gearing up for a pivotal game in the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series, captain Na Sung-bum said Thursday he hoped for some early offense against the Samsung Lions. The teams split the first two games of this best-of-five battle at the Lions' home in the southeastern city of Daegu. The series has now moved to Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju, where the Tigers will try to win two straight games and close out the series.

Kia Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho said Thursday he was counting on his two key left-handed relievers to regain their form in the ongoing South Korean baseball postseason series against the Samsung Lions. With the Lions doling out a left-heavy lineup in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason, led by the 100-RBI trio of Koo Ja-wook, Lewin Diaz and Choi Hyoung-woo, the Tigers have precious few southpaw options to deal with them in high-leverage spots in late innings. Lee Eui-lee pitched 1 1/3

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) -- The small-ball Milwaukee Brewers, playing in the smallest market in the majors, are World Series champions for the first time. Young ace Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, rookie Cooper Pratt had two hits and two RBIs, and the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, setting off a long-awaited celebration among thousands of Milwaukee fans at Tropicana Field. "It's the best feeling ever. All of our fans are here. I know the ci

With their best-of-five series in the South Korean baseball postseason tied at one game apiece, the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers will each start a right-hander with something to prove. The two clubs split the first two games of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Tigers took the first game 5-1 on Monday before the Lions responded with an 8-3 victory the next day at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. The series will now move to the Tige

It was a pitch that got away. Kia Tigers starter James Naile was cruising along against the Samsung Lions in their opening game of a Korea Baseball Organization postseason series Monday night. Naile had allowed just one single through four innings at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. But then with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Naile hit Park Seung-kyu in the head with a fastball. Under KBO rules, it resulted in an automatic ejection. Park stayed in the game and sc

baseball-pitcher With military service on horizon, pitcher hoping to leave Tigers on positive note By Yoo Jee-ho DAEGU, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- Over the past three seasons, Kia Tigers reliever Jung Hai-young has gone from one of the top closers in South Korean baseball to a pitcher who could no longer be trusted in key spots. The fall has been jarring. In 2024, Jung became the first closer to top the All-Star fan voting in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history. He led the league with 31 saves th

Even at the advanced age of 42, Samsung Lions veteran Choi Hyoung-woo was one of the best hitters in South Korean baseball in the regular season. He was one of just seven players to bat at least .300 and drive in at least 100 runs in the Korea Baseball Organization. Considering his production, it would seem like a no-brainer for the Lions to put him into their starting lineup to begin their postseason. However, injury-related and other factors kept Choi out of the lineup against the Kia Tigers f

The Los Angeles Angels have fired manager Kurt Suzuki after a poor season in Major League Baseball. The Angels announced Wednesday that Suzuki would step down as manager and that the club would begin searching for a new manager and coaching staff. Suzuki, a Japanese American born in Hawaii, took over as Angels manager last October but guided the team to a 62-100 record this season, the worst mark since the franchise was founded in 1961. The Angels finished last in the American League West for th

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner blamed New York's players for the team's failure to win the World Series and defended manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman, who is getting a new contract as he enters his 30th season in charge of baseball operations. "I thought Boone managed a good season, especially with the pitching staff," Steinbrenner said Wednesday. "The bottom line is the players didn't live up to their end of the bargain in the playoffs." New York has gone 17 seasons without

It is not often that a baseball player hits two home runs in a key postseason game and still gets upstaged by a teammate, but that is exactly what happened to Kia Tigers slugger Na Sung-bum this week. The Tigers pummeled the LG Twins 13-1 in Game 3 of their best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason Tuesday night at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, with Na contributing two solo home runs that, by the end of the night, became a footnote to the latest heroic feat authored b

The Los Angeles Dodgers' bid for a third straight World Series title ended abruptly with a four-game sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, putting manager Dave Roberts back under scrutiny despite one of the most successful managerial runs in baseball. Milwaukee advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1982 after winning all four games of the NLCS. Los Angeles, widely viewed as a championship favorite entering the season, struggled to turn early l

The Tampa Bay Rays moved within one win of reaching the World Series for the first time in six years. Tampa Bay beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Sunday, behind a strong outing from starter Drew Rasmussen. The Rays took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and need one more victory in Games 6 or 7 to advance to the World Series. Tampa Bay, which joined the majors as an expansion team in 1998, reached the W

One foreign pitcher will look to send his team to the next round in the South Korean baseball postseason this week, while another foreign-born hurler will try to keep his club alive. The Kia Tigers will take a 2-0 lead over the LG Twins in their best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason when the battle resumes at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The Tigers, having won the first two games at home in the southwestern city of Gwangju over the weekend, w