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Lions beat Eagles to even KBO postseason series

Published: 19 Oct. 2025, 19:22

Samsung Lions starter Choi Won-tae celebrates after striking out Kwon Kwang-min of the Hanwha Eagles during Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Starter Choi Won-tae fired seven innings of one-run ball and the lineup pounded out a dozen hits, as the Samsung Lions defeated the Hanwha Eagles 7-3 on Sunday to even their KBO postseason series at one game apiece.

After Choi allowed a first-inning home run to Luis Liberato, the Lions scored seven unanswered runs before a sellout crowd of 16,750 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon.

The best-of-five series now shifts to Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first pitch will be 6:30 p.m. for both games.

The Eagles opened the scoring with Liberato's solo home run off starter Choi Won-tae with one out in the bottom of the first, moments after Eagles ace Ryan Weiss had struck out two batters in the top half of the frame.

But the Lions touched Weiss for a four-spot in the top of the third.

They loaded the bases with a walk and two straight singles. Then Koo Ja-wook brought in the tying run with a fielder's choice groundout, before Lewin Diaz doubled home the go-ahead run.

Kim Young-woong of the Samsung Lions celebrates after hitting a two-run single against the Hanwha Eagles during Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions hits an RBI double against the Hanwha Eagles during Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Kim Young-woong followed that up with a two-run single to give the Lions a 4-1 lead.

They pushed their advantage to 5-1 in the top fourth thanks to Diaz's double, with Koo getting tagged out home trying to make it a 6-1 game.

Weiss had some trouble against the Lions during the regular season, pitching to a 4.05 ERA with a 2-3 record, and the trend continued in the postseason Sunday. He was charged with five runs on a season-worst nine hits in only four innings.

For the Lions, Choi settled down after that Liberato dinger. Choi only allowed three more hits over his next six innings, all of them singles. His fastball-changeup mix kept inducing soft contact early in the count, allowing Choi to go seven innings.

Choi's batterymate, Kang Min-ho, also helped out on offense by smacking a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to round out the Lions' scoring.

The Eagles scored twice in the bottom ninth, with Roh Si-hwan hitting a solo home run, but it was too little, too late for the home team.

Samsung Lions starter Choi Won-tae pitches against the Hanwha Eagles during Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Hanwha Eagles during Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Lions manager Park Jin-man said Choi was the biggest reason the team got a split on the road, with a chance to win the series at home later this week.

"I think the home run in the first inning was a wake-up call for him. He completely shut down Hanwha after that," Park said. "He and catcher Kang Min-ho have been working really well this postseason. Won-tae is not throwing as hard as he once did, but he has better command and control of his pitches now."

As for jumping on Weiss in the early innings, Park said, "We hit well against him during the regular season, and our hitters had confidence going into today's game."

Right-hander Ariel Jurado will start Game 3 on six days' rest. Jurado pitched the Lions to this series after tossing seven shutout innings against the SSG Landers in the previous round last Tuesday.

Samsung Lions players and coaches celebrate their 7-3 win over the Hanwha Eagles in Game 2 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 19, 2025. [YONHAP]

Eagles skipper Kim Kyung-moon said he will try to put this loss behind him as quickly as possible.

"Usually, when a starter pitches well in the first couple of innings, he can keep that going through five innings. But Weiss just came apart in the third," Kim said. "I think it was a huge letdown for the rest of the team."

Weiss' poor outing came just 24 hours after No. 1 starter Cody Ponce was roughed up for a season-worst six runs on seven hits in six innings. Ponce still earned the win but tied the postseason record for most runs allowed by a winning pitcher.

"That's why baseball is so difficult to figure out," Kim said of the two aces' unexpected struggles. "I am sure they will be better the next time out."

Former National League All-Star and Cy Young Award candidate Ryu Hyun-jin will get the ball for the Eagles in Game 3.

Yonhap