Naile pitches Tigers past Twins in postseason opener

James Naile held the LG Twins to one run over seven innings as the Kia Tigers won their postseason opener 5-1 Saturday in Gwangju. Kim Do-yeong hit two home runs in the opening game of the best-of-five KBO first-round series, according to The Korea Times.

The outing extended Naile's postseason success after he helped Kia win the 2024 Korean Series. His career postseason ERA stood at 2.04 after the victory, compared with a 4.58 ERA in three regular-season appearances against the Twins.

Naile allowed four hits and struck out six before three relievers completed the victory, The Korea Times reported. Five of his strikeouts came on his sweeper.

The Twins took the lead on Song Chan-eui's solo home run in the second inning. Harold Castro answered with a solo shot in the bottom half, and Kim put Kia ahead with another in the fourth.

Naile faced a threat in the sixth after surrendering a leadoff double and a walk. He escaped without a run scoring, using a strikeout and a double play to end the inning. Naile said his ability to induce ground balls gave him confidence that he could work out of trouble, according to the newspaper.

Kim homered again in the eighth. Naile praised his teammate's two-homer performance, noting the pressure and distractions that accompanied the series opener, the newspaper reported.

A sellout crowd of 18,900 attended at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. The newspaper reported that Naile credited the team's pitching, hitting and defense for the victory.

Naile said his 2024 Korean Series experience helped him prepare for this postseason, according to The Korea Times. In that series, he posted a 2.53 ERA over two starts, allowing three earned runs and striking out 13 in 10 2/3 innings.