Lions, Twins enter second half of KBO season locked in title battle as Asian Games approach

The KBO season resumes Thursday after the All-Star break, with the Samsung Lions and LG Twins expected to battle for the regular-season title, while the upcoming Asian Games and the Lotte Giants' bid to end an eight-year postseason drought could reshape the playoff race.

Samsung and LG emerged as the league's top two teams in the season's first half. The Twins held first place for most of the season after a strong start, but the Lions surged late to overtake them during the final three-game series before the break.

Ahead of the second half of the league, the JoongAng Ilbo asked three commentators — Jeong Min-chul, Park Jae-hong and Jeon Jun-ho — about their outlook on the race ahead. All three agreed that Samsung and LG are the strongest contenders for the regular-season title. But they differed on which team would advance directly to the Korean Series.

"I think LG is still more likely to come out on top in the end, even though it temporarily surrendered first place," Jeong said. "LG wasn't at full strength in the first half. In particular, key hitters Hong Chang-ki, Moon Bo-gyeong and Park Dong-won were not in top form. If they can improve their hitting even just a little, LG has more than enough to win the title."

Commentator Park saw Samsung as having an upper hand.

"Based on the current momentum, Samsung has the edge," Park said. "Both Samsung and LG have strong starting rotations, so the difference comes from the bullpen. Samsung's bullpen is superior in both depth and quality, giving it an advantage in the pennant race down the stretch."

He also pointed to Samsung's recent signing of Chris Paddack.

"Samsung recently signed Chris Paddack as its new foreign player," he said. "His extensive MLB experience could provide a significant boost."

The Asian Games could have a major impact on the second half. Beginning with this year's tournament, the KBO will continue its regular season during the Asian Games, meaning every club will have to play throughout September without its national team players. The fifth-place Doosan Bears and third-place KT Wiz could be affected the most because each will lose two starting pitchers.

"Gwak Been and Choi Min-seok are the pillars of Doosan's starting rotation," Jeon said. "They played a major role in Doosan posting the league's only team ERA in the 3.00 range, at 3.90, during the first half."

Whether Doosan has pitchers who can fill their absence is key.

"Its backup starters will need to deliver in two or three outings if the team wants to remain in playoff position," he added.

Jeong shared a similar view.

"Doosan needs to build up as many wins as possible before the Asian Games," he said. "The same goes for KT. Losing So Hyeong-jun, Oh Won-seok and closer Park Yeong-hyun will make it difficult to manage the pitching staff. KT also needs to reverse its recent slump quickly to secure a postseason berth."

Another key question is whether the Giants can carry their recent momentum into the second half.

Despite sitting in eighth place, Lotte has gone 13-6-1 over its past 20 games, raising hopes of a second-half push. Last season, the Giants were in third place through the middle of the year before collapsing in the second half and finishing seventh.

"It's not an easy situation," Park said. "Lotte trails fifth-place Doosan by five games. Mathematically, that's a difficult gap to overcome."

Jeon also expressed skepticism.

"From fifth-place Doosan to the sixth-place Hanwha Eagles and seventh-place NC Dinos, the teams are tightly bunched together," Jeon said. "Those clubs are more likely to battle among themselves for the final playoff spot. Lotte is also at a disadvantage because it has losing head-to-head records against Doosan, Hanwha and NC."

Jeong, however, remained optimistic.

"Lotte has its best starting rotation in years," he said. "If hitters such as Yoon Dong-hee and Han Dong-hui can do their part, the team has a chance to climb into the middle of the standings. But it will probably need two or three winning streaks of five to seven games to make that happen."

BY KO BONG-JUN [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]