LG and Doosan name starters for Jamsil wild-card opener

The LG Twins and Doosan Bears will open their KBO postseason wild-card series at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium at 18:30 on October 14. Fourth-place LG has named Carlos Carrasco as its starting pitcher, while fifth-place Doosan will send Gwak Bin (곽빈) to the mound. LG can reach the semi-playoffs with a win or a draw in the opener. Doosan must win the first game to force a second meeting at the same stadium on October 15, and then win again to advance. [ 3 , 4 , 6 ]

LG will be without closer Son Ju-yeong (손주영). Manager Yeom Gyeong-yeop (염경엽) said Son had been diagnosed with a disc herniation involving the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae and could not participate in the wild-card series, Newsis reported. His condition would be reviewed if LG reaches the semi-playoffs. Yeom said the team would use a shared closing role, selecting pitchers based on opposing hitters' data and the batting order. He also said Oh Ji-hwan (오지환), included on the roster after injury, could be used as a pinch hitter. [ 15 ]

LG held an 11-win, one-draw and four-loss advantage over Doosan in their regular-season meetings. However, Doosan leads their six previous postseason matchups four to two, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. Carrasco finished with six wins, three losses and a 4.05 earned-run average over 60 innings in 11 games, Chosun Ilbo reported. Gwak recorded 11 wins, seven losses and a 2.24 earned-run average across 161 innings in 27 games, leading the league in earned-run average and strikeouts, with 197. Carrasco enters the opener after four days' rest following his October 9 outing against Lotte. [ 6 , 8 ]