Lions begin final title push pursued by Bears, Dinos

After the All-Star Game break, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League begins another long journey as the Samsung Lions hope to defend their lead.

The Lions are looking for their fifth straight championship title, but are closely chased by the Doosan Bears and NC Dinos. The Bears are only one game behind the Lions, while the Dinos follow by 1.5 games.

The three teams have never fallen below fourth place in the league since June 7.

The Lions will not have an easy week as they host the Kia Tigers starting Tuesday before travelling to Daejeon to face the Hanwha Eagles starting Friday. The Lions are 4-4 against the Tigers and 2-6 against the Eagles.

The Bears have 63 games left this season, the most among all other teams. They will travel to Incheon on Tuesday to face the SK Wyverns, then head to Changwon, South Gyeongsang, to play the Dinos starting Friday. The Bears are 4-4 against the Dinos.

Meanwhile, league-bottom KT Wiz is hoping to spoil each of the top clubs’ plans for the second half of the season. The Suwon-based club has been gradually improving, going 7-4 this month.

But fans are concerned that the team’s hot performance has started to cool down, as the rookie club was shut out by the Bears 0-11 on Wednesday and 0-3 on Thursday.

The Wiz will host the Eagles before travelling to Seoul to face the LG Twins, currently in ninth place.

BY JOO KYUNG-DON [joo.kyungdon@joongang.co.kr]