Samsung beats Kia 8-3 to level playoff series

The Samsung Lions defeated the Kia Tigers to even their Korea Baseball Organization playoff series at one game apiece.

Samsung downed Kia 8-3 in Game 2 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO postseason playoff at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Tuesday, powered by a go-ahead RBI single from Koo Ja-wook and home runs from Lewin Diaz and Choi Hyoung-woo.

Having lost Game 1 on Monday 1-5, Samsung evened the best-of-five series at 1-1. The two teams will take a day off before meeting again in Game 3 on Thursday at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju.

Kia drew first blood. In the top of the third, Ha Ju-seok and Park Jae-hyeon singled to put runners on first and third with one out, and Lee Ho-yeon's sacrifice fly to center gave Kia a 1-0 lead.

Samsung answered immediately in the bottom of the third. With two outs and a runner on second, Park Seung-gyu lined a two-base hit down the left-field line to tie the game, and Koo then drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single to center, making it 2-1. Diaz kept the rally going, launching a two-run homer to right-center to push the lead to 4-1.

Samsung added another run in the bottom of the fifth, drawing three walks with two outs against Kia reliever Lee Eui-ri to force in a run. In the sixth, Kim Ji-chan's double and Park Seung-gyu's sacrifice fly plated two more, stretching the advantage to 7-1.

Kia clawed one back in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch by Hurado, but Samsung threw cold water on the comeback when Choi Hyoung-woo hit a solo shot to right in the bottom of the inning. Kia managed only one more run in the eighth.

Samsung starter Ariel Hurado threw 108 pitches over 6⅔ innings, allowing five hits, two walks and two earned runs. The winning pitcher was also named the game's MVP. Won Tae-in came on in the top of the ninth and retired the side in order, striking out two.

Choi, who started at left field and batted fifth, set new KBO postseason records at 42 years and 10 months old — oldest appearance, oldest hit, oldest home run and oldest RBI in postseason history. His seventh-inning solo blast both put the game out of reach and secured his place in postseason history.

Kia starter Adam Oller took the loss after surrendering five hits and five runs in 4⅔ innings. Kia's offense managed only six hits and could not solve Samsung's pitching staff. The defeat also ended Kia's six-game postseason winning streak, which had stretched back to Game 4 of the 2024 Korean Series.