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Lions defeat Landers to grab stranglehold in KBO postseason

Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 09:45

Koo Ja-wook of the Samsung Lions celebrates after hitting an RBI double against the SSG Landers during Game 3 of the first-round series in the KBO postseason at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]

Behind a solid performance from their starting pitcher and a string of timely hits, the Samsung Lions defeated the SSG Landers 5-3 on Monday to move within a win of reaching the next round in the KBO postseason.

Starter Won Tae-in held the Landers to a run over 6 2/3 innings on a rainy night before a sellout crowd of 23,680 fans at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu, as the Lions grabbed a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five first-round series. Their top three hitters in the lineup, Kim Ji-chan, Kim Seong-yoon and Koo Ja-wook, each had two hits while combining for three RBIs and four runs scored.

The Lions will move on to the next stage with a win in Game 4 at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the same Daegu stadium.

The teams were tied at 1-1 in this series before Monday. On seven previous occasions where teams split the first two games of the first-round series, the one that took Game 3 went on to win the series all seven times.

After being silenced by starter Drew Anderson over the first two innings, the Lions put up a three-spot in the third inning to take the lead.

Kang Min-ho drew a one-out walk, and Ryu Ji-hyuk followed up with a single.

Kim Ji-chan chopped a grounder back to Anderson, who only had time to force Ryu at second base.

Samsung Lions starter Won Tae-in pitches against the SSG Landers during Game 3 of the first-round series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]

With two outs, Kim Seong-yoon bounced a soft grounder toward second baseman An Sang-hyun for what could have been the final out of the inning. But An made a wide throw to first, allowing Kang to score easily from third. As the ball trickled into the foul territory, the speedy Kim Ji-chan made aggressive turns around the bases and slid home to put the Lions up 2-0.

Koo Ja-wook then doubled home Kim Seong-yoon to win an eight-pitch battle and give the Lions a 3-0 lead. Anderson's night was done after that inning.

The Landers got a run back in the top fourth. With two outs and a runner at second, Choi Ji-hoon, who had batted 5-for-10 against Won in the regular season, hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But then the Lions pulled further ahead in the bottom fifth.

After Kim Ji-chan hit a one-out double against reliever Lee Ro-un, Kim Seong-yoon lined another double to make it a 4-1 game.

Lee struck out Koo Ja-wook after a postseason-record 17-pitch duel. With the first base open, he intentionally walked Lewin Diaz and chose to face Kim Young-woong instead.

Kim made Lee pay right away, smacking an RBI double to deep right field for a 5-1 lead and knocking the right-hander out of the game.

The Landers made things a little more interesting in the top ninth. Second baseman Yang Do-geun dropped a routine pop fly to begin the inning, and Ko Myeong-jun smoked a two-run homer off reliever Bae Chan-seung that made it a 5-3 game.

Kim Ji-chan of the Samsung Lions, left, slides home safely during Game 3 of the first-round series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason against the SSG Landers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]

It was Ko's third home run in three games of this series, but it ultimately wasn't enough for the Landers.

The game had a 37-minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, with a 2-2 count on the Lions' leadoff man Kim Ji-chan, and was played amid persistent showers.

Lions manager Park Jin-man credited Won with saving the team's season.

"His pitch count was pretty high, but he volunteered to take the mound in the seventh inning," Park said of Won, who finished with 105 pitches, one shy of his season high. "I appreciate his dedication and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the team."

The manager also noted the performance by the trio at the top of the lineup. Kim Seong-yoon had been 0-for-6 before this game, and Koo Ja-wook had been 1-for-8.

"Seong-yoon had been slumping, but he made some good contact today. Ja-wook got a couple of hits and worked long at-bats, too," Park added. "If we get this kind of performance from the top, then we can start playing our brand of baseball."

Landers manager Lee Sung-yong said his team's inability to get to Won made all the difference.

The Landers' top hitters have been stuck in a rut. Guillermo Heredia and Choi Jeong are both 2-for-12, and Han Yoo-seom is 2-for-8.

Kim Young-woong of the Samsung Lions hits an RBI double against the SSG Landers during Game 3 of the first-round series in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason against the SSG Landers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]

"I still trust them, and I will stick with them," Lee said. "They had their ups and downs during the regular season, but they got us this far. I will keep putting them in the lineup."

The Lions will turn to right-hander Ariel Jurado to try to clinch the series Tuesday.

Jurado led the Lions with 15 wins and a 2.60 ERA in the regular season, but he has been saddled with two losses so far this postseason. In a rare relief outing in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2 on Saturday, Jurado served up a walk-off solo home run to Kim Seong-uk.

In the regular season, Jurado went 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA against the Landers but served up four home runs in 27 1/3 innings — including two by Ko Myeong-jun, who has homered three times in this series.

The Landers will ask veteran left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun to save their season in Game 4.

Kim is the most experienced pitcher for his team, with 23 career postseason games, including 19 starts.

Kim didn't have great numbers against the Lions in the regular season, with a 5.28 ERA in three starts. He had 19 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings but also gave up 16 hits.

Yonhap