Game 3 of the Korean Series was held in Daegu, and the Samsung Lions took control of the series after splitting the first two games against the KT Wiz, winning Game 3 5-1.
In the top of the first, the Wiz got on the board right away. With a runner on second and two outs, Sam Hilliard doubled off the wall, narrowly missing a two-run home run. The hit scored a run and gave the Wiz a 1-0 lead.
The Lions answered in the bottom of the inning. After putting runners on first and second with one out, Hyoung-woo Choi delivered a single to score a run and tie the game at 1.
The second inning proved to be the big inning offensively for Samsung. With the game tied at 1, the Lions worked three walks to load the bases with one out. Seong-yoon Kim grounded into a fielder’s choice to give the Lions a 2-1 lead and put runners on the corners with two outs.
Ja-wook Ko stepped up to the plate and delivered the biggest hit of the game. He drove a 2-0 pitch deep to right field, where KT outfielder Hyun-min Ahn leaped at the wall. The ball bounced off his glove and into the right-field corner for a two-run triple, giving the Lions a 4-1 lead.
Jurado took over from there. He entered the season as Samsung’s ace and showed why. After allowing a two-out single in the second inning, Jurado retired 16 of the next 19 hitters without allowing a runner to reach third base.
It was another masterful performance from Jurado. He pitched seven innings, allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts. He now owns a 1.31 ERA in 20 2/3 postseason innings.
With a 4-1 lead in the eighth, the Lions added an insurance run on a Seung-kyu Park home run to take a 5-1 advantage into the ninth.
Tae-hoon Kim came on in the ninth to finish things off for the Lions. After recording two strikeouts and hitting a batter, Kim got a flyout to left field to seal the 5-1 victory.
The win gave Samsung a 2-1 series lead. With the Lions hosting the next two games in Daegu, they will have an opportunity to win the Korean Series on their home field.
The story of the series has been Samsung’s pitching staff shutting down the Wiz offense after a strong start to Game 1. The Wiz took an 8-0 lead in the sixth inning of the opener, but over the last 24 innings of the series, they have scored just three runs.
The Lions have received dominant performances from Chris Paddack and Jurado to turn the series around and take a 2-1 lead.
The Korean Series has historically been dominated by the top seed. Since 2002, only twice has the top seed failed to win the championship. The last occurrence came in 2018, when the SK Wyverns defeated the Doosan Bears in six games.
With two more wins, the Samsung Lions could become just the third team in the last 25 Korean Series to win the championship without being the top seed.
In Game 4, the Wiz will turn to Logan Allen in an attempt to avoid falling behind 3-1. In 17 regular season starts, Allen posted a 3.59 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings.
Nineteen-year-old rookie Chan-hee Jang will get the ball for Samsung. He made 41 appearances during the regular season, including nine starts. Jang posted a 4.50 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 76 innings.