Seong-gyu Lee's 3rd Inning Go-Ahead Home Run... Young-woong Kim Adds a Blast in the 5th
Heon-gon Kim's Great Defense Prevents Runs in the 5th + Another Blast in the 7th
Byung-ho Park Breaks Silence with a Home Run... Consecutive Homers with Heon-gon Kim
Professional baseball team Samsung Lions returned home and showcased the might of their cannon squad, securing their first comeback win in the Korean Series. Samsung manager Park Jin-man had said after losing both the first and second games on the road in Gwangju on the 23rd that home runs were needed, and Samsung's hitters responded by hitting four home runs. Although all four came with no runners on base, it was enough to secure the victory. Starting pitcher Reyes continued his strong postseason performance in his third game, shutting down the KIA Tigers' lineup by allowing just one run over seven innings.
On the 25th, Samsung won 4-2 against the KIA Tigers in Game 3 of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason Korean Series held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. After losing both games in Gwangju, they secured a valuable first win at home.
Playoff MVP Reyes delivered an outstanding pitching performance in his first start of the Korean Series. KIA starter Lauer also pitched well for five innings, but Reyes's strong outing overshadowed him.
Both Reyes and Lauer started strong by retiring the side in order in the first inning. Reyes induced three groundouts, while Lauer recorded two strikeouts and a flyout to center field to end the inning.
Samsung Lions' Lee Seong-gyu is cheering after hitting a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 3rd inning. [Photo by Yonhap News]
In the second inning, both pitchers allowed their first hits but induced double plays to prevent any runs. Reyes gave up consecutive hits to KIA's Na Sung-bum and Kim Sun-bin with one out, putting runners on first and second, but induced Seo Geon-chang into a double play. Lauer allowed Samsung's Kim Heon-gon a hit with one out but induced a double play from the sixth batter, Park Byung-ho.
The third inning brought contrasting fortunes. Reyes retired the side in order with consecutive strikeouts and a groundout to third base. Lauer, however, gave up the first run after one out when Samsung's Lee Sung-kyu hit a go-ahead home run. Lee connected on the fifth pitch in a 1 ball 2 strike count, pulling a ball outside to left-center field over the fence. The home run traveled 125 meters.
Reyes continued his strong performance in the fourth inning. Although he faced a tense moment when KIA's third batter Kim Do-young hit a large foul ball near the fence, he ultimately retired KIA's core hitters Socrates, Kim Do-young, and Choi Hyung-woo in order. Lauer also retired the side in the bottom of the fourth with two strikeouts and a groundout to first base.
Reyes overcame a tense situation in the top of the fifth. He allowed a hit to leadoff batter Na Sung-bum, then gave up a walk to Seo Geon-chang after a sacrifice bunt by Kim Sun-bin, creating a 1 out, runners on first and second scenario. However, he struck out Kim Tae-gun swinging to ease the pressure. Although he allowed a hard-hit ball to the next batter Choi Won-jun, left fielder Kim Heon-gon's excellent defensive play prevented any runs.
Samsung capitalized on the opportunity in the bottom of the fifth to add insurance runs. After one out, Kim Young-woong hit Lauer's second pitch over the right-center field fence for a 125-meter home run. Despite giving up the home run, Lauer struck out the next two batters consecutively, maintaining the game's tension.
Although Lauer gave up his second home run, he did not collapse, and KIA quickly scored a run to narrow the gap. Choi Hyung-woo delivered an RBI single to right field after a full count battle on a 7-pitch at-bat with two outs and a runner on second. Reyes maintained the one-run lead by striking out Na Sung-bum swinging, who had gotten hits in his previous two at-bats.
Samsung failed to capitalize on the leadoff hit by No. 1 batter Kim Ji-chan in the bottom of the sixth. Lauer was replaced immediately after allowing Kim Ji-chan to reach base. He finished with 5 innings pitched, 5 hits allowed (2 home runs), 2 runs (2 earned), 8 strikeouts, and no walks. Jang Hyun-sik came in as KIA's second pitcher and retired the next three batters in order, finishing the inning scoreless.
Reyes returned to the mound in the top of the seventh and retired the side in order, striking out the final batter Kim Tae-gun with a roar.
Samsung Lions starting pitcher Reyes roars after striking out Kim Tae-gun to end the top of the 7th inning. Photo by Yonhap News
The Samsung lineup exploded in the bottom of the seventh, tipping the scales of the game. Leadoff hitter Kim Heon-gon hit the first pitch from KIA's third pitcher Jeon Sang-hyun over the left field fence. Following him, Park Byung-ho also hit the first pitch over the left field fence. Jeon Sang-hyun threw only two pitches before being taken off the mound.
From the eighth inning, Samsung brought in Im Chang-min and Kim Jae-yoon to close out the game. Im struck out leadoff batter Choi Won-jun in the eighth but allowed an infield hit to Park Chan-ho. After retiring Socrates on a flyout to center field, he handed the mound over to Kim Jae-yoon.
Kim Jae-yoon allowed a wild pitch during Kim Do-young's at-bat, advancing Park Chan-ho to second base, and then gave up an RBI hit to Kim Do-young, allowing one run. However, he caught Choi Hyung-woo on a flyout to left field on the first pitch, maintaining a two-run lead.
In the top of the ninth, Kim Jae-yoon retired leadoff batter Na Sung-bum on a flyout to left field. He allowed a hit to the next batter Kim Sun-bin but struck out pinch hitter Han Jun-soo swinging. After recording two outs, Kim Jae-yoon walked pinch hitter Lee Woo-sung and hit Choi Won-jun with a pitch, loading the bases.
KIA's final batter was Park Chan-ho. Park hit Kim Jae-yoon's first pitch sharply toward third base but just missed the line. He then hit the second pitch sharply along the third base line for a potential hit, but Samsung third baseman Kim Young-woong was positioned very close to the line to field the ball. Kim Young-woong securely caught the hard-hit ball and touched third base first, sealing the long battle.
Reyes earned two wins and the MVP title with a stellar performance of 13.2 innings pitched, 1 run allowed (1 earned), and an ERA of 0.66 in two playoff games. In his first Korean Series start, he threw 107 pitches over seven innings, allowing five hits, one unearned run, one walk, and striking out seven, becoming the hero of the victory.
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