GWANGJU, South Korea (Interstat) — The Kia Tigers open a three-game series against the Lotte Giants on Tuesday night at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, with cloudy skies and a temperature of 85 degrees expected at first pitch.

Kia enters 60-50-3, while Lotte is 50-58-2. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 Kia victory, and Interstat’s ELO system gives Kia a 58.4 percent chance of winning.

Right-hander James Naile will be a key for Kia. In his most recent start Aug. 23 at Kiwoom, Naile took a 7-8 loss despite allowing two earned runs over six innings with five hits and eight strikeouts. He earned a win Aug. 18 at Hanwha, allowing two earned runs over six innings with five hits and three strikeouts, and on July 30 at Samsung he allowed three earned runs over six innings with five strikeouts in a 12-3 win.

Lotte will look to Park Se-woong, who took a 3-1 loss Aug. 23 at Doosan despite allowing two earned runs over six innings with nine hits and five strikeouts. In his previous start Aug. 15 against NC, Park earned an 8-5 win, allowing two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings with nine hits and two strikeouts.

Kia enters the series after a narrow 8-7 loss at Kiwoom on Sunday. In that game, Naile allowed two earned runs in six innings, catcher Kim Tae-gun went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs, and left fielder Park Jae-hyun went 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Lotte also lost Sunday, falling 3-1 at Doosan.

Kia holds a 5-4-1 edge in the season series. The teams last met July 7-9 in Busan, with Lotte winning the first two games 10-2 and 11-3 before Kia took the finale 5-2. Earlier in the season, Kia won 10-0 on June 4 and 5-4 on June 2, while Lotte won 8-3 on June 3. They played an 11-inning 5-5 tie on April 26.

This series marks an important stretch for both teams as the season moves toward September. The teams will meet again Wednesday and Thursday at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field before Lotte returns home for a weekend series against LG. Kia will stay home to face Shinsegae Landers on Friday.