“No Tomorrow”: Bold move to bring in Won Tae-in early in the 6th pays off ... Samsung wins Gwangju slugfest, one win from the Korean Series

[Financial News] In a slugfest featuring a barrage of home runs, the dugout’s all-out, unconventional effort on the mound paid off. The Samsung Lions secured a valuable road win, moving to within one victory of reaching the Korean Series (KS).
On the 29th, Samsung defeated the KIA Tigers 6-4 in Game 3 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO postseason playoffs, a best-of-five series, at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. The win was powered by Park Seung-gyu’s go-ahead hit in the top of the 7th, Koo Ja-wook’s insurance hit and a string of strong outings from the bullpen.
After splitting the first two games at home in Daegu, Samsung took the crucial third game on the road to move ahead 2-1 in the series. In the history of best-of-five playoffs, teams have been tied 1-1 16 times; the team that won Game 3 went on to reach the Korean Series on nine of those occasions (56.3%). Samsung gained a major advantage in its bid to reach the Korean Series for the first time in two years, since 2024.
The game was a tight home-run battle from the start. After two outs in the top of the 1st, Lewin Díaz put Samsung ahead with a two-run homer to right. KIA tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the 2nd with consecutive RBI hits by Ha Joo-seok and Kim Tae-gun. Then, in the bottom of the 3rd, KIM Do-young hit a go-ahead solo homer to right. Samsung answered in the top of the 5th: with one out and a runner on first, Ryu Ji-hyeok hit the first home run of his postseason career, a two-run shot to right, in his 39th career postseason game, putting Samsung back in front, 4-3.



The turning point came in the bottom of the 6th. With Samsung starter Choi Won-tae (1 2/3 innings, 2 runs allowed) pulled early, manager Park Jin-man had been relying on Bae Chan-seung and Lee Jae-hee (2 scoreless innings). To protect a one-run lead, he made the bold move of bringing in interim closer Won Tae-in early, in the bottom of the 6th.
Won Tae-in gave up a painful game-tying solo homer to leadoff hitter Na Sung-bum, but did not falter, holding KIA scoreless for the rest of his 1 2/3 innings and doing his job.


With the pitching staff holding firm, the offense responded. In the top of the 7th, with two outs and a runner on second after Lee Jae-hyeon’s single and Kim Ji-chan’s sacrifice bunt, Park Seung-gyu ripped a precious go-ahead double through the right-center gap. Then cleanup hitter Koo Ja-wook punched a run-scoring hit through the opposing infield to extend the lead and seal the 6-4 score.
Once Samsung took the lead, its dugout left no openings. Lee Seung-min came in with two outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the 7th and shut KIA out over 1 2/3 innings. Then, with two outs and runners on first and second in a desperate situation in the bottom of the 9th, Samsung pulled Kim Tae-hoon and brought in Satoshi Miyamori. Miyamori got KIA star KIM Do-young to ground out to third on the first pitch, putting the finishing touch on a thrilling win.
KIA, meanwhile, was pushed to the brink. After starter Keisho Shirakawa (4 1/3 innings, 4 runs allowed) was pulled, the team sent in as many as eight relievers, tying the playoff record for most pitchers used by one team in a game, at nine. But KIA could not stop Samsung’s momentum and suffered a painful home defeat.


[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter