Koo Ja-wook's Comeback Hit, Choi Hyeong-woo's Clincher Level PO Series at 1-1 for Samsung

The Samsung Lions bounced back with a revived offense in just one day, evening the playoff series.

Samsung defeated the KIA Tigers 8-3 in Game 2 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO postseason playoffs at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, fueled by a strong pitching performance from Ariel Jurado and home runs from Lewin Diaz and Choi Hyeong-woo, racking up a total of nine hits.

Having avenged their Game 1 loss to level the series, Samsung will now aim to take the upper hand in Game 3 in Gwangju.

Meanwhile, the KIA Tigers, finishing their two-game away stint in Daegu with a 1-1 record, are expected to mount a counterattack at home.

In Game 2, which featured a starting pitching duel between Adam Oller and Jurado, KIA drew first blood.

KIA opened the scoring in the top of the third inning when Ha Joo-suk hit a single up the middle and Park Jae-hyun added an infield single, setting up runners on first and third with one out, followed by Lee Ho-yeon's sacrifice fly to center field.

However, Samsung, which made major changes to its batting order, immediately retaliated unlike the previous day.

In the bottom of the third with two outs and a runner on second, Park Seung-gyu tied the game 1-1 with a double down the left-field line, and Koo Ja-wook followed with an RBI single up the middle to turn the game around at 2-1.

In the ensuing attack, Lewin Diaz smashed a two-run homer over the right-center field fence, quickly extending Samsung's lead to 4-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs against KIA's second pitcher Lee Eui-lee, Samsung drew three walks to add a run on a bases-loaded walk, pushing the score to 5-1.

Firmly seizing control, Samsung added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on Kim Ji-chan's double and Park Seung-gyu's sacrifice fly, widening the gap to 7-1.

KIA, trailing behind, got a run back in the top of the seventh capitalizing on a wild pitch by Jurado.

However, Samsung sealed the victory in the bottom of the seventh when veteran Choi Hyeong-woo launched a dramatic solo home run into the right-field stands.

KIA managed to score a run in the top of the eighth when pinch hitter Kim Tae-gun hit a double and came home on a subsequent groundout, but it had no bearing on the outcome.

Samsung starting pitcher Jurado showed great fighting spirit by throwing 108 pitches over 6.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs, earning him the Daily MVP award.

Starting as the cleanup left fielder at the age of 42 years, 10 months, and 11 days, Choi Hyeong-woo recorded 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 RBIs in 3 at-bats, breaking postseason records for the oldest appearance, hits, home runs, and RBIs.

Won Tae-in, who took the mound as Samsung's closer in the top of the ninth, secured the win with a 1-2-3 inning, including two strikeouts.

KIA struggled as starting pitcher Oller collapsed, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits over 4.2 innings, while the team's offense was limited to 6 scattered hits.

Kim Do-young and Harold Castro each finished with 1 hit in 4 at-bats.

KIA, which swept the LG Twins 3-0 in the wild card/semi-playoffs, saw its six-game postseason winning streak dating back to Game 4 of the 2024 Korean Series come to an end.

Game 3 of the playoffs will be held at Kia Champions Field at 6:30 p.m. on October 29, following a one-day rest.

Meanwhile, Samsung Lions Park recorded sellouts of all 23,550 seats for the second consecutive game, bringing the cumulative postseason attendance to 132,200.

Fall baseball has now recorded 43 consecutive sellout games starting from Game 1 of the 2023 Korean Series.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.