American aces to face each other in KBO postseason series opener

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SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- The Samsung Lions will send their American right-hander Chris Paddack to begin their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Sunday.

The Lions on Saturday announced Paddack as their starter for Game 1 of the best-of-five second round against the Kia Tigers. First pitch is 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu.

The Tigers said they will counter with their American ace James Naile.

The winner of this round will reach the Korean Series, where the regular-season champions KT Wiz are waiting.

The Lions had a bye to this stage after posting the second-best record in the regular season at 83-58-3 (wins-losses-ties). The Tigers, after finishing third at 79-63-2, had a bye to the first round, where they swept the 2025 Korean Series champions LG Twins.

On the 35 previous occasions when this round was played in a best-of-five format, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 27 times, or about 77 percent of the time.

Samsung Lions starter Chris Paddack pitches against the SSG Landers during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in the western city of Incheon on Oct. 9, 2026, in this file photo provided by the Lions. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Paddack went 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 starts after joining the Lions in July. He had a worse ERA against the Tigers than any other opponent in the regular season, with a 5.25 mark and a 0-2 record in two meetings. He struck out 16 in 12 innings.

Those two games were Paddack's back-to-back starts. He gave up six runs on six hits in five innings on July 30 and allowed three runs, though only one earned run, on three hits in seven frames on Aug. 11.

Among the Tigers' regulars, Kim Do-yeong and Kim Tae-gun each hit a home run off Paddack.

Kim Do-yeong has been the biggest star of this postseason so far, launching three home runs, including a massive grand slam, against the Twins to earn the series MVP honor.

Kia Tigers starter James Naile pitches against the LG Twins during Game 1 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Oct. 17, 2026. (Yonhap)

Naile has been a strong performer in these high-stakes games. He went 1-0 and posted a 2.53 ERA in two starts during the Tigers' run to the Korean Series title over the Lions in 2024. Then last Saturday, Naile held the Twins to a run on four hits in seven strong innings for the Tigers' 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the previous series.

Naile went 2-0 and had a 3.24 ERA in four regular-season meetings against the Lions this year, with 19 strikeouts against five walks in 25 innings.

Kim Seong-yoon, a pesky slap hitter who will likely bat second in the Lions' lineup, enjoyed the most success against Naile, batting 8-for-10 with a walk. Koo Ja-wook, the Lions' captain and the regular-season batting champion, had three hits, including a double, against Naile this year.

jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)

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首尔，10 月 24 日（韩联社）——三星狮队将于周日派出他们的美国右投手克里斯·帕达克，开始他们的韩国棒球组织（KBO）季后赛。

周六，狮队宣布帕达克将担任与起亚虎队五局三胜制第二轮首场比赛的首发投手。比赛将于周日下午2点在韩国东南部城市大邱的大邱三星狮公园球场举行。

老虎队表示他们将派出美国王牌投手詹姆斯·奈尔迎战。

本轮的胜者将晋级韩国系列赛，与常规赛冠军 KT Wiz 队会师。

狮队常规赛战绩为83胜58负3平，排名第二，直接晋级到本轮。虎队常规赛战绩为79胜63负2平，排名第三，同样轮空进入首轮，并在首轮横扫了2025年韩国系列赛冠军LG双子队。

在之前 35 次采用五局三胜制进行该轮比赛的情况下，第一局的获胜者有 27 次赢得了整个系列赛，即约 77% 的概率。

这张由三星狮队提供的资料照片显示，2026年10月9日，在韩国西部城市仁川的仁川SSG兰德斯球场，三星狮队先发投手克里斯·帕达克正在与SSG兰德斯队进行韩国棒球联赛常规赛的比赛。（照片非卖品）（韩联社）

帕达克自七月加盟底特律雄狮队以来，13场先发取得7胜3负，防御率2.95。他在常规赛中面对老虎队的防御率最高，两战皆负，防御率高达5.25，战绩为0胜2负。他在12局投球中送出16次三振。

这两场比赛是帕达克连续首发。7月30日，他投了5局，被击出6支安打，失6分；8月11日，他投了7局，被击出3支安打，失3分（其中只有1分是自责分）。

老虎队的主力投手金道英和金泰根都曾从帕达克手中击出过本垒打。

金度英是本赛季季后赛至今最大的明星，他对阵双城队时击出三支本垒打，其中包括一支巨大的满贯本垒打，荣获系列赛MVP称号。

2026年10月17日，在韩国西南部城市光州的光州起亚冠军球场，起亚老虎队先发投手詹姆斯·奈尔在韩国棒球组织季后赛首轮第一场比赛中对阵LG双子队。（韩联社）

奈尔在这些关键比赛中表现出色。在2024年老虎队击败狮队夺得韩国系列赛冠军的征程中，他先发两场，取得1胜0负的战绩，防御率仅为2.53。上周六，在上一轮系列赛的第一场比赛中，奈尔面对双子队投了7局，仅被击出4支安打，失1分，帮助老虎队以5比1获胜。

奈尔本赛季常规赛对阵雄狮队的四次交锋中取得了2胜0负的战绩，防御率为3.24，在25局投球中送出19次三振，仅有5次保送。

金成允是一位难缠的短打者，很可能在狮队阵容中担任第二棒。他对阵奈勒的战绩最为出色，10次击球8次安打，并获得一次保送。狮队队长兼常规赛打击王具载旭今年对阵奈勒也有三次安打，其中包括一支二垒安打。

jeeho@yna.co.kr (完)

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