James Naile pitches Kia Tigers past LG Twins in KBO postseason opener
Naile allowed one run over seven innings as Kia won 5-1 in Gwangju, taking the first game of its best-of-five series against LG.
James Naile held the LG Twins to one run over seven innings on October 17 in Gwangju, South Korea, as the Kia Tigers won 5-1 to open their best-of-five Korea Baseball Organization postseason series, according to Yonhap News Agency. The victory gave Kia the first game of the first-round matchup.
Naile allowed four hits and struck out six batters before three relievers finished the game, Yonhap reported. The official KBO scoreboard lists him as the winning pitcher, Anders Tolhurst as the losing pitcher and Jeon Sang-hyun with the save.
How Kia took the lead against LG
LG went ahead in the second inning when Song Chan-eui hit a solo home run off Naile. Harold Castro answered with a solo shot in the bottom half, and Kim Do-yeong broke the 1-1 tie with a fourth-inning homer. Kim hit another home run in the eighth as Kia pulled away; Yonhap credited him with four RBIs in the game.
Naile faced his hardest stretch in the sixth after a leadoff double and a walk put two runners aboard. He struck out Moon Jeong-bin, then got Moon Bo-gyeong to hit into a double play. Five of Naile’s six strikeouts came on his sweeper, according to Yonhap.
Naile said he expected the sixth to decide the game. ‘My strength is ground balls. I always think I can get out of any inning with a double play,’ he said in remarks reported by Yonhap. He credited Kia’s defense for completing the play behind him.
Naile’s return to the KBO postseason
The start was Naile’s first South Korean postseason appearance since Kia’s 2024 Korean Series title. In two starts against the Samsung Lions that year, he allowed three earned runs across 10 2/3 innings and struck out 13. Yonhap put his career postseason ERA at 2.04 after Saturday’s win.
Naile had a 4.58 ERA in three regular-season meetings with LG, but said he put those outings behind him before Game 1. He described the opener as a chance to set the tone for Kia’s series. The game drew a sellout crowd of 18,900 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, Yonhap reported.
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Sources and context
- (LEAD) Naile strengthens stellar postseason resume in Tigers' victoryYonhap News Agency
- KBO official scoreboard, October 17, 2026Korea Baseball Organization
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.