Doosan and KIA will face off for the 16th time of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League season at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 13th.
The result of this game could have a profound impact on the farming of both teams in the year.
Doosan, ranked fifth with 72 wins, two draws and 65 losses, is ahead of sixth-ranked KIA (71 wins, two draws and 68 losses) by two games. If Doosan wins on this day, the distance between the two teams will be three games apart. With only two games left, it is practically difficult for KIA to reverse this.
However, if KIA wins and narrows its gap with Doosan to one game, the fight for fifth place will not be known until the end. Doosan, which will have four games left, will also be in a position to guarantee autumn baseball. After the KIA match, Doosan has to face the LG Twins in first place and the SSG Landers in third place twice.
He defeated the NC Dinos 11-1 the day before (12th) and went to the guillotine match with a two-game lead over KIA, which may be less burdensome, but manager Lee Seung-yeop shook his head.
"Well, I don't think so," coach Lee said. "We are at a disadvantage than the third and fourth places, and we are also trailing in sixth place. It beat NC after losing two consecutive games (which began on the 10th). Fortunately, it raised the atmosphere that had subsided," he said.
"Right now, I'm only thinking about winning as much as I can in the rest of the game. We should do our best, focusing only on victory," he said, encouraging Doosan's team.
Manager Kim Jong-kook, who will face Doosan, stressed that it is the "last game." Head coach Kim said, "We have been determined that 'Today's game is the last.' "We will put forward all available players to win the Doosan match."
In the meantime, he said that the burden will be greater for Doosan, which is being chased, than KIA, which is chasing. "It's not even a postseason, it's one of the regular seasons," manager Kim said. We will only play with the determination that it is the last game," he said, before reiterating, "Doosan will feel much more pressure."
KIA will have Kim Do-young and Ko Jong-wook as table setters, while Kim Sun-bin, Socrates Brito and Lee Woo-sung will take charge of the clean-up trio. Coach Kim said, "Kim Sun-bin, Socrates, and Lee Woo-sung hit timely hits in each recent chance, so we were able to win. They have good concentration," he said, expressing expectations.