LG Twins forced a deciding wild-card game with an 11-inning walk-off single at Jamsil Stadium, denying Doosan Bears a road series clinch after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.
Park Seung-yeop pinch-hit a line drive over a drawn-in infield with one out in the bottom of the 11th, scoring Moon Sung-jun from second as the sellout crowd of 25,412 erupted. Doosan had taken a 3-1 lead into the eighth behind starter Kwak Bin’s seven strikeouts, but LG tied the game on a two-out double from Shin Min-jae in the ninth before both bullpens locked down extra frames.
Series stakes
The best-of-three wild-card series is now level at 1-1 heading into Wednesday’s finale at Jamsil. The winner advances to face the regular-season champion Hanwha Eagles in the Korean Series bracket next week. LG finished third in the standings but owned home-field advantage because of a better head-to-head record against Doosan during the summer.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yuung said he considered lifting Kwak for a closer in the ninth but stuck with his starter through 108 pitches, a decision he defended by citing pitch-efficiency metrics even as the tying run scored. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop praised his bullpen’s 4.2 scoreless innings, highlighting closer Go Woo-suk’s return from forearm tightness that limited him in September.
Key moments
Doosan’s Fernando Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the fourth, his third of the series, but struck out with runners on second and third in the 10th against reliever Sung Min-ki. LG’s Austin Dean was thrown out at home on a perfect relay in the seventh, a play replay officials confirmed after a brief review.
KBO announced attendance records for the wild-card round after holiday weekend games drew casual fans back to ballparks. Television ratings for Game 2 peaked at 12.8 percent nationwide on SBS, beating weekend drama time slots despite the late finish past midnight.
What’s next
Both clubs will lean on shortened rotations for Game 3. LG plans to start Casey Lawrence on two days’ rest, while Doosan has not confirmed whether Alcantara will pitch on normal rest or if the team will use a bullpen day after extra-inning fatigue.
Ticket sales for Wednesday opened online at 10 a.m. and sold out in 14 minutes, crashing the league’s ticketing partner for the second time this postseason. Jamsil ushers are preparing for another midnight finish if managers burn through relievers early.
For LG, the walk-off extends a season that looked over in August when injuries stacked up in the outfield. For Doosan, it is another postseason heartbreak at a stadium that has haunted the Bears in October. Game three will decide which narrative survives.