Gwangju:Daegu With their best-of-five series in the South Korean baseball postseason tied at one game each, the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers are preparing for a pivotal showdown. Each team will send a right-handed pitcher to the mound, both keen to make an impact in this decisive game.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the two teams split the first two games of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason in Daegu. The Tigers secured a 5-1 victory in the opening game on Monday, while the Lions bounced back with an 8-3 win the following day at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
The series now shifts to Gwangju, the Tigers' home ground, located approximately 270 kilometers south of Seoul, for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Friday, both scheduled for a 630 p.m. start. The Tigers will rely on Japanese right-hander Keisho Shirakawa for the third game, while the Lions will counter with right-hander Choi Won-tae.
Shirakawa made an impressive KBO postseason debut on October 20 against the LG Twins, allowing just one run on four hits over five innings and striking out nine. Despite his strong performance, the game was overshadowed by a 13-1 victory by the Tigers. Manager Lee Bum-ho noted that Shirakawa exceeded expectations in that outing. Shirakawa will aim to prove his earlier success was no fluke, having recorded a 3.68 ERA in three regular-season matchups against the Lions.
Choi, on the other hand, has had a mixed postseason history. He boasted an 11.16 ERA in 18 previous playoff games but delivered six shutout innings against the SSG Landers in the first round of 2025 and continued his form with a solid seven-inning, one-run performance against the Hanwha Eagles in the next series. Despite this, Choi struggled against the Tigers this season, with an 8.10 ERA in three meetings.
The outcome of this series will determine who advances to the Korean Series. Historically, in the past 16 instances when this best-of-five round was tied at 1-1, the team winning the third game has gone on to win the series nine times.