Tired LG and well-rested Doosan... Staggered fall baseball starting lines

In professional baseball, the team that finishes the regular season with a high ranking has an absolute advantage in the postseason.

This is because the top three teams can enter the fall classic after getting sufficient rest, while the fourth-place team plays the wild card game with a one-win advantage.

However, the LG Twins, who advanced to the wild card game as the fourth seed this season, are heading into the fall classic under a heavy atmosphere.

This is due to severe overload on the pitching staff after a fierce battle for ranking late in the regular season.

Starting late last month, LG engaged in a fierce competition with the KIA Tigers for third place.

They fought an all-out war by mobilizing both starters and the bullpen, as if playing in the postseason.

However, the results were not good. Failing to recapture third place with a narrow defeat in the final regular season game against KIA held at Gwang-ju Kia Champions Field on the 12th.

LG finished the regular season in fourth place, leaving only severe fatigue in their pitching staff.

The aftermath is considerable. Closer Son Joo-young suffered from a stiff neck and was sidelined.

He felt pain so severe that he could not properly turn his neck on the morning of the 11th, and ultimately could not pitch in the final game against KIA on the 12th.

It remains unclear whether Son Joo-young can recover his normal condition in three days.

Key bullpen member and Asian quota left-handed pitcher John Kennedy is also exhausted.

He pitched four times in six days, from the Doosan Bears game on the 7th to the KIA game on the 12th.

Available resources in the bullpen are also lacking.

Right-handed pitcher Go Woo-seok, who returned after finishing his challenge in U.S. professional baseball, cannot play in the postseason due to Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regulations because he joined the team late.

In addition, key bullpen pitcher Kim Jin-sung was sidelined due to a shoulder injury, and left-hander Song Seung-gi's postseason appearance was canceled due to an elbow injury.

The starting rotation is also unstable. Carlos Carrasco, who is announced as the starter for the first game of the wild card round, will pitch after only four days of rest following his game against the Lotte Giants on the 9th.

His pitch count in the Lotte game was not high at 85 pitches, but given that he has recently shown physical stamina issues, it is a burdensome schedule.

Carrasco struggled with an ERA of 6.75 in two appearances since August.

On the other hand, the situation of their opponent, Doosan, is the complete opposite.

Doosan secured fifth place in the regular season early on, and avoiding the torment of false hope proved beneficial.

Doosan focused on the postseason and raised their players' conditions to their peak.

Ace Kwak 빈, the starter for the first wild card game, will pitch after seven days of rest following his game against the Lotte Giants on the 6th.

Choi Min-seok, who earned 14 wins this season, also rested for nearly a week after the LG game on the 7th.

Foreign pitcher Zach Logue started against the Samsung Lions on the 5th and made a relief appearance against the Lotte on the 12th, pitching one inning to complete his final checkup.

Left-hander Wes Benjamin rested for nearly ten days following the Samsung game on the 4th.

All pitchers are overflowing with energy.

The matchup between the two teams holds yet another special meaning.

The two teams will play their final autumn baseball at Seoul's Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which will disappear into history at the end of this season.

The team that gets eliminated in the wild card game will bid farewell to Jamsil Stadium the moment their defeat is confirmed.