A third-base error on a grounder by KIM Do-young sparks disaster... KIA’s ‘Han Jun-soo tying and go-ahead hit show’ sends the series to Game 5

[Financial News]  Just one ordinary ground ball. The price of failing to field it cleanly was harsh indeed. A single painful defensive error by the third baseman awakened the defending champions’ dormant claws, ushering in the start of a massive comeback.
The KIA Tigers rallied with a fearsome surge of offense in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Samsung Lions 4-2 in a thrilling comeback in Game 4 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason playoffs, a best-of-five series, at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 30th.
The series is tied at two wins apiece. KIA, which revived its hopes at the brink of elimination, and Samsung, which failed to put the series away, will battle it out in a decisive Game 5 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on November 1 to determine who claims the Korean Series berth.
The game swung decisively on a single defensive error in the bottom of the seventh. With KIA trailing 1-2 and a runner on first with no outs, Samsung third baseman Kim Young-woong let KIM Do-young’s routine grounder go between his legs, committing a costly “between-the-legs” error.



What could have been a double play suddenly became a golden opportunity with runners on first and second and no outs, and the Tigers showed no mercy. Harold Castro immediately lined the new pitcher Miyamori Satoshi’s outside pitch to tie the game at 2-2. With runners on first and third and two outs, the hero of the day, Han Jun-soo, then drove in the go-ahead run with a dramatic hit off reliever Lee Jae-hee’s forkball, sending it past the first baseman. With runners still on first and third, Ha Joo-seok followed with an RBI single to left, extending the lead to 4-2.
Han Jun-soo was unquestionably the key to KIA’s win that day. After hitting a game-tying RBI single with runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, he also delivered the go-ahead, game-winning hit in the seventh, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs to claim the Daily MVP award.




The bullpen strategy also worked perfectly. Starter James Naile returned to the mound after four days’ rest following his start in Game 1 and did his part, allowing one run over five innings. Samsung’s Choi Hyung-woo hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to take the lead, but Cho Sang-woo, who came on in relief from the sixth, shut them out over 1⅔ innings and earned the win. Closer Jeon Sang-hyun took over in the eighth and secured the save with two perfect innings, firmly shutting the door on the win.
Samsung starter Chris Paddack also took the mound after four days’ rest following Game 1 and turned in a strong outing of 5⅓ innings, six hits, one run and 99 pitches. But the bullpen could not withstand the fallout from the seventh-inning error and collapsed, leaving Samsung to bow its head. The breakdown in the infield’s focus was especially costly, as all three runs surrendered in the seventh were recorded as unearned.
After trading blows in Gwangju, both teams’ 2026 autumn campaigns now have just one final hurdle remaining on the way to the summit: a winner-take-all game in Daegu.


[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter