Gwangju, South Korea (Interstat) — The Doosan Bears visit the Kia Tigers on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in an evening matchup between two teams separated by little in the standings.

Doosan enters at 54-46-4, while Kia is 54-47-4. The forecast calls for 81 degrees and cloudy skies. Both teams played Thursday, with Doosan beating Hanwha 9-6 and Kia losing to Samsung 9-8.

Doosan catcher Yang Eui-ji is a key player to watch. Over his past three games, Yang is 4-for-11 with two home runs and four RBIs. That includes a 2-for-4 performance Thursday with a home run and three RBIs, and a 2-for-3 outing Aug. 11 with a homer and one RBI.

Kia’s player to watch is pitcher Shirakawa Keisho. In Thursday’s loss to Samsung, he allowed one earned run on four hits with four strikeouts over five innings. In his previous start July 29 at Samsung, he allowed one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts over five innings. He did struggle July 23 against Hanwha, allowing four earned runs in three innings.

The teams have split recent history. Doosan has won six of the last 10 meetings, including two of three in June and two of three in Gwangju from June 12-14. However, Kia won the most recent matchup June 28, routing Doosan 12-1. Kia also took May 13 and May 14 meetings, while Doosan won May 12 and April 19.

Doosan’s offense has been productive lately. In Thursday’s win, Yang homered and drove in three, while pitcher Choi Min-seok worked five innings, allowing two earned runs, and Lee Young-ha struck out three in one scoreless inning.

Kia will try to bounce back from Thursday’s one-run loss despite a strong start from Shirakawa. Kim Sun-bin went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in that game, and reliever Jeon Sang-hyun pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 Kia victory and gives Kia a 53.4 percent win probability. The run line lists Doosan at +1.5, and the over/under is set at 9.5 runs.

The series continues Saturday and Sunday at the same ballpark. Doosan then travels to NC Dinos, while Kia heads to Hanwha.