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Kia Tigers extend lead at top of KBO as NC Dinos drop to third

Published: 20 May. 2024, 11:23 Updated: 20 May. 2024, 17:14

JIM BULLEY
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Kia Tigers outfielder Lee Woo-sung hits a solo home run at the top of the ninth during a game against the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang on Sunday. [YONHAP]

The Kia Tigers extended their lead at the top of the KBO to three games over the weekend, pushing the NC Dinos down to third with the sole sweep of the week at Changwon NC Park in South Gyeongsang.

The Tigers beat the Dinos 7-4, 7-2, 2-1 on the road in Changwon, allowing the Samsung Lions to move up to second place as they edged out the ninth-place Hanwha Eagles two games to one in a tight series in Daegu.

Fourth place is back with the Doosan Bears, who reached as high as third with a nine-game winning streak earlier in the month, only to have it snapped by the Tigers on Wednesday to drop back to sixth. A split series with the last-place Lotte Giants over the weekend was enough to lift the Bears back into fourth.

The Bears saw their first and second ties of the season over the last week, splitting Thursday’s game against the Tigers 7-7 — splitting the series after an 8-5 win on Tuesday and 4-8 loss on Wednesday — and Sunday’s against the Giants 3-3 — after a 1-5 loss on Friday and an 8-3 win on Saturday.

The Dinos also saw a tie during their midweek series against the Eagles, 5-5 on Tuesday, leaving the league with an unusual three ties over a single week.

The reigning champion LG Twins share fifth place with the SSG Landers, both teams having won their weekend series — LG going 13-5, 7-6, 10-4 against the eighth-place KT Wiz and SSG beating the seventh-place Kiwoom Heroes 5-4, 3-0, 3-10.

While 4.5 games separate the Tigers and the Twins and Landers, the drop off from seventh place is dramatic. The Heroes trail by 10 games, the Wiz by 10.5, the Eagles by 12 and the Giants by 12.5.

There’s an even spread of games as the KBO returns midweek, with the Tigers visiting the Giants in Busan, the Lions hosting the Wiz in Daegu, the Dinos heading north to face the Heroes, the Landers playing the Bears in Seoul and the Twins and Eagles facing off in Daejeon.

Moving into the weekend there’s some more intrigue as the Tigers host the Bears in Gwangju and the Dinos and Twins face off in Seoul. The Lions visit the Giants in Busan, the Landers host the Eagles in Incheon and the Heroes and Wiz face off in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]