If the Samsung Lions want to become just the second team in league history to overcome a 3-1 Korean Series deficit, they will have to do so without their ace. The KBO pitching wins leader during the regular season and Lions starting pitcher Won Tae-in was diagnosed with a shoulder labrum injury after his Game Four start that the Lions announced will require four to six weeks of rehab and knock him out for the remainder of the postseason.
The injury is a crucial blow to the Lions, as Won Tae-in has played a crucial part in their Korean Series run. The 24-year-old made his first postseason start in the second round against the LG Twins, picking up the win by allowing just one run over 6 2/3 innings. He was even better in the Korean Series opener against the Kia Tigers, as he shut out the league’s best offense over five innings before rain suspended play in the sixth and forced him out of the game.
Yet when Won Tae-in took the ball again in Game 4, it was clear that something was off. After allowing a run in the first, Won allowed each of the first three runners to reach in the third inning before serving up a two-run single to Socrates Brito. He would finally register his first out of the inning on a sacrifice bunt, but after walking his third batter of the inning, Won motioned to the trainer to come to the mound. At just 78 pitches, both Won’s day and season were over, and Kim Tae-gin of the Tigers would add insult to injury with a game-breaking grand slam off reliever Song Eun-beom.
The injury is the latest gut-punch to the KBO’s second-best regular season team, as they were already without Opening Day starter Connor Seabold and captain Koo Ja-wook, who was injured in the last series on a stolen base attempt. The Lions will need to win three straight games at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field to complete a historic comeback. The first step will come with Game 5 on Monday at 5:30 a.m. EST.
WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo Credit: TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 18: Pitcher Tae In Won #18 of South Korea pitches in the top of the second inning during the Asia Professional Baseball Championship game between South Korea and Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome on November 18, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
