Nexen Heroes' Park Byung-ho slams a home run in the sixth inning against the Samsung Lions in Daegu, Sunday. It was his 41st homer this season. Yonhap







By Yoon Sung-won





New York Yankees former catcher Yogi Berra's famous quote, "It ain't over till it's over," may well apply to the ongoing battle for playoff positioning in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) with only about 20 games left for each team in the regular season.

The Samsung Lions' seemingly untouchable position at the top is now in jeopardy after they lost five in a row last week. And, no one is sure which team will get the last ticket to the postseason due to the cutthroat competition for fourth-place.

On Sunday, the Nexen Heroes crushed the Lions 7-0 on the road, notching another victory following the previous day's win against the Daegu-based club.

The victory was made on the back of excellent pitching by starter Moon Sung-hyun, who did not allow a run in the 6 2/3 innings. Heroes hitters Lee Sung-yul and Park Byung-ho contributed to the win with home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

It was Park's 41st homer this season, which is tops in the league. His teammate Kang Jung-ho is second with 36 homers.

The losing streak surely came as a shock to Lions head coach Ryu Joong-il, because it is the worst since his reign began in 2011. It is also the team's worst losing streak since it lost six games in a row in June 2010.

But most importantly, it was a humiliating result for the league-leader, as this year it aims at both topping the regular season for most wins as well as winning the Korean Series for the fourth consecutive year. This represents a major setback as the Heroes are now threatening the Lions' lead, trailing by only 3.5 games.

But a more heated competition is underway for the last spot in the postseason, as the Doosan Bears, who are in the fifth spot, are right on the heels of the LG Twins for fourth.

The Bears beat the NC Dinos 10-6 in an away game at Masan Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, boosted by a strong offense, which produced 14 hits and three home runs.

Bears' slugger Kim Hyun-soo hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and ended the night with a stellar four hits in five at-bats, while racking up five runs batted in (RBIs).

For the team, it was the fourth-consecutive win and it is now just one game behind the Twins. In this sense, the games between the Bears and Twins on Sept. 4 and 5 will be crucial for both teams.

The Dinos, who are currently in third, are reeling from a string of four consecutive losses. They are sitting 5.5 games behind the Heroes and hopes of climbing into second place in time for the playoffs are fading.

Now, every game is important, especially for those who are fighting for one of the top four spots to get into the postseason.

All the clubs will play 10 games before they take a break from Sept. 14 due to the Incheon Asian Games which start Sept. 19, and resume the season from Oct. 1.