Seoul: Clubs in the middle of the standings in South Korean baseball are looking for one final push before the annual All-Star break just around the corner. This marks the final full week of the first half of the 2026 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, with the All-Star break set to begin on July 10 and the season resuming six days later.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Hanwha Eagles moved back into a tie for fifth place with the Doosan Bears after sweeping the SSG Landers in their weekend series. Both the Eagles and the Bears are right at .500 - the Eagles at 37-37-2 and the Bears at 38-38-2. The Eagles face a challenging week ahead with games against the third-place KT Wiz (43-32-1) and the league-leading LG Twins (48-29-0).
Meanwhile, the Bears are poised to play against teams at the lower end of the standings, with three games against the eighth-place Lotte Giants (33-41-2) and three with the last-place Kiwoom Heroes (27-51-1). The KT Wiz surrendered second place to the Samsung Lions (44-30-2) after being swept by them over the weekend. The Lions, on a four-game winning streak, are set to play six games against sub-.500 clubs, including the NC Dinos (35-39-1) and the Landers (30-45-2).
The SSG Landers, who have endured a 13-game losing streak earlier this year, have slipped to ninth place. They have managed to win just one of their last six series. On the other hand, the LG Twins, prior to facing the Eagles, will visit the Heroes. The Twins are two wins away from reaching the 50-win mark this year, a milestone that often leads to a first-place finish nearly 70 percent of the time.
The Kiwoom Heroes, currently positioned at the bottom, are 4 1/2 games behind the Landers as they strive to avoid becoming the first club in the current 10-team setup to rank last in four consecutive seasons. The KBO is on the brink of surpassing 7 million fans this week in the fewest games ever, with 6,953,564 fans attending 384 games through Sunday. The 7-million milestone is expected to be reached by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. Last year, the league reached 7 million in 405 games, marking a record-breaking pace in attendance this year.