American aces to face each other in KBO postseason series opener

The Samsung Lions will send their American right-hander Chris Paddack to begin their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Sunday. The Lions on Saturday announced Paddack as their starter for Game 1 of the best-of-five second round against the Kia Tigers. First pitch is 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Tigers said they will counter with their American ace James Naile. The winner of this round will reach the Korean Series, where the regular-season champions KT Wiz are waiting. The Lions had a bye to this stage after posting the second-best record in the regular season at 83-58-3 (wins-losses-ties). The Tigers, after finishing third at 79-63-2, had a bye to the first round, where they swept the 2025 Korean Series champions LG Twins. On the 35 previous occasions when this round was played in a best-of-five format, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 27 times, or about 77 percent of the time. Paddack went 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 starts after joining the Lions in July. He had a worse ERA against the Tigers than any other oppone