The Korea Baseball Organization semi-playoff shifts to Seoul’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Tuesday night for Game 3, with the LG Twins facing elimination after Kia Tigers took the first two games in Gwangju. Kia named right-hander Shirakawa to start opposite LG’s Chris Carrasco, matching the rotation card the league published Monday evening.
Series situation
Kia leads the best-of-five 2-0 after winning Sunday and Monday in Gwangju, fueled by timely hitting from Choi Won-jun and shutdown innings from the bullpen. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop told reporters he will stick with an aggressive lineup featuring Park Hae-min atop the order and catcher Park Dong-won behind the plate to manage Carrasco’s splitter-heavy plan.
For LG, Game 3 is must-win at home where the Twins posted the league’s second-best regular-season winning percentage. Crowd noise at Jamsil historically pressures visiting pitchers in strike-zone counts, though Kia’s roster features several veterans who played years in Seoul as opponents.
Matchup notes
Shirakawa arrived midseason from Nippon Professional Baseball and posted a sub-3.00 ERA in September starts. Carrasco, the Dominican veteran, stabilized LG’s rotation after injuries to younger arms. Analytics staffs on both sides flagged Shirakawa’s fastball rise and Carrasco’s first-pitch slider as early-count weapons to watch.
Weather at game time should be cool with light winds blowing toward left field, slightly favoring pull hitters such as LG’s Moon Bo-geun. Umpire crew chief assignment went to Kim Jung-hoon, whose strike zone in prior playoff games trended tighter on low pitches.
Broadcast and tickets
SPOTV carries the national feed; tickets sold out within twenty minutes Monday, with resale platforms listing premium infield seats above regular-season playoff averages. Subway Line 2 to Sports Complex Station will add extra staff after Chuseok travel crowds.
The winner needs two more victories for the Korean Series; if Kia sweeps, LG’s season ends Tuesday night. Twins fans hope Jamsil’s twilight start reverses momentum the way their 2023 semi comeback did—Kia plans to silence the crowd early with Shirakawa’s first-inning efficiency.
LG bullpen coach Kim Kyung-wook told local radio that high-use arms Lim Chan-gyu and Go Woo-suk are available for multiple innings if Carrasco exits early, reversing a conservative September usage pattern. Kia manager Kim Jong-kook countered that lefty specialist Hwang Dong-jae will be on call for Moon and other right-handed bats in the middle of the order.
Team shops at Jamsil extended hours for playoff merchandise, and sports bars in Gangnam booked private rooms for corporate watch parties—a ritual that returns after Chuseok family travel. League officials reminded fans that drone flights over the stadium remain banned after a minor incursion during last year’s postseason.
Rain is not in the KMA forecast, but groundskeepers covered the infield with tarps during Tuesday afternoon workouts to lock in moisture levels after humid air followed the typhoon. Both clubs listed healthy benches, with Kia’s Na Sung-bum available as a pinch-hit option against Carrasco’s slider-heavy splits.