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Twins skipper not about to celebrate after taking big Korean Series lead

Published: 28 Oct. 2025, 11:34 Updated: 28 Oct. 2025, 16:05

LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb reacts to a play during Game 2 of the Korean Series against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 27. [YONHAP]

Over the history of the Korean Series, a 2-0 series lead has been virtually insurmountable. Of the 21 previous occasions when a team took the first two games of the KBO championship round, 19 have gone on to claim the title.

The LG Twins now hold that commanding 2-0 lead over the Hanwha Eagles, after pounding them into submission in a 13-5 win at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Monday.

But by the time he walked into the postgame press conference, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb had put that game behind him.

"Today's game is over, and we will play Game 3 like it is the first game of the series," Youm said. "I've already told the players that we have to take it one game at a time and one win at a time. Our mindset will be that the series is tied at 0-0, not that we're up 2-0."

If the Twins keep swinging their bats the way they have in these two wins, the series could be a short one. The Twins won the first game 8-2 on seven hits Sunday and then pounded out 11 hits, including two home runs, for Monday's win.

The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top first before the Twins rallied with a five-spot in the bottom second, sparked by Park Dong-won's two-run double. Park then launched a two-run homer in the third to push the Twins' lead to 7-4. After the Eagles got a run back in the top fourth, Moon Bo-gyeong's three-run double in the bottom fourth all but sealed the deal in the Twins' favor.

"Although we gave up four runs in the first inning, we were able to respond right away in the second with some big hits, and that gave us major momentum," Youm said. "Dong-won's home run and Bo-gyeong's double gave us some breathing room, and this was a breezy win for the most part."

One positive by-product of this offensive outburst is that the Twins got to save their bullpen, which gave Youm headaches throughout the regular season.

"I've had some concerns about our middle relief, but we've been able to put them in comfortable situations because we've scored so many runs," the manager said. "And I think that should give them more confidence going forward, and it will be a big positive for us."

Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon, left, watches his team play the LG Twins in Game 2 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 27. [YONHAP]

In his pregame media availability, Youm had predicted the sudden drop in the temperature — with the mercury falling to the single digits — would affect hitters more than pitchers.

Youm's players proved him wrong, and the manager smiled and said, "I guess that's why baseball is so hard to figure out."

Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon apologized to fans for not being more competitive in losing the first two games. They lost the series opener by 8-2 on Sunday before getting badly outplayed again on Monday.

"We should be playing tighter games and put up scores that befit the Korean Series," Kim said. "I am really sorry to our fans that we haven't been able to play that way. We had a great start, but then our pitchers gave up more runs than we'd hoped."

Kim didn't blame his pitchers' struggles on cold weather.

"The opponents hit well," Kim said. "We will try to bounce back at home starting in Game 3."

Yonhap