GWANGJU (Interstat) — The Samsung Lions defeated the Kia Tigers 6-4 on Thursday evening at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, South Korea, in Game 3 of the playoff series. Samsung leads the series 2-1 after the win. The Lions improved to 83-59-3, and the Tigers fell to 82-65-2. Samsung outhit Kia 10-9 in the evening playoff game. The victory gave the Lions the advantage in the series with Game 3 complete.

Samsung opened the game with early pressure. Kim Ji-chan flied out to left, Park Seung-kyu popped out to second and Koo Ja-wook reached on a dropped third strike. Lewin Díaz then homered to right field to put the Lions on the board, and Choi Hyoung-woo popped out to short to end the top of the first. Kia’s first inning went quietly as Park Jae-hyun grounded out to short, Kim Ho-ryung struck out and Kim Do-yeong struck out.

Kia answered in the second. Harold Castro walked, Na Sung-bum flied out to center and Kim Sun-bin singled to left. Kim Kyu-sung popped out to short, but Kim Tae-gun singled to left field to drive in Castro, and Ha Ju-suk singled to center-left to bring home another run. Park Jae-hyun struck out to end the inning. Samsung went down in order in the third when Lee Jae-hyeon reached on a dropped third strike, Kim Ji-chan flied out to right and Park Seung-kyu grounded out to the pitcher.

Kia added to its lead with a home run from Kim Do-yeong in the third. Harold Castro reached on an error by the first baseman, but Na Sung-bum struck out and Kim Sun-bin lined out to third. Samsung’s fourth inning produced a flyout from Koo Ja-wook, a groundout from Lewin Díaz and a strikeout by Choi Hyoung-woo. Kia put another runner on in the fourth when Ha Ju-suk singled to right, but Park Jae-hyun popped out to first.

Samsung’s offense came alive in the fifth. Kang Min-ho singled to right, Jeon Byeong-woo struck out and Ryu Ji-hyuk homered to right field. Lee Jae-hyeon walked, Kim Ji-chan singled to left and Park Seung-kyu flied out to center. Koo Ja-wook flied out to left to end the inning. Kia got a walk from Kim Do-yeong in the bottom half, but Harold Castro fouled out and the Tigers could not add more.

Samsung kept pressure on in the sixth. Lewin Díaz singled to left-center, Choi Hyoung-woo struck out and Kang Min-ho walked before a double play ended the threat. Kia got a home run from Na Sung-bum, a single from Kim Kyu-sung and a flyout from Kim Tae-gun, while Ha Ju-suk struck out. In the seventh, Ryu Ji-hyuk struck out, Lee Jae-hyeon singled to center-left and Kim Ji-chan bunted to first to move the runner. Park Seung-kyu doubled to right-center to score Lee Jae-hyeon, and Koo Ja-wook singled to right-center to score Park. Lewin Díaz struck out to end the top half.

Kia’s seventh included a grounded out from Park Jae-hyun, a strikeout by Kim Ho-ryung and an infield single by Kim Do-yeong, who advanced to second on an error by the shortstop. Harold Castro flied out to center. Samsung added a single from Kim Hun-gon in the eighth, a sacrifice bunt from Kang Min-ho, walks to Kim Young-woong and Ryu Ji-hyuk, and a double play from Lee Jae-hyeon. Kia’s eighth ended with a foulout from Na Sung-bum, a walk to Kim Sun-bin and a lineout to short. In the ninth, Kim Ji-chan walked, Park Seung-kyu popped out to third, Koo Ja-wook grounded out to first and Lewin Díaz was intentionally walked before Kim Hun-gon popped out to second.

Samsung reliever Lee Jae-hee was the top performer in the game, pitching two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. Kia starter Shirakawa Keisho lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and four earned runs with one walk and four strikeouts. Lee Seung-min followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, yielding one hit and one walk. Lewin Díaz went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jeon Sang-hyun pitched 1 2/3 hitless scoreless innings with two walks. Ryu Ji-hyuk was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Won Tae-in allowed one earned run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Miyamori Satoshi retired one batter without allowing a hit or an earned run. Kwak Do-gyu worked two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout. Lee Eui-lee recorded one out, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Samsung scored two runs in the fourth inning and two in the sixth. Kia scored two runs in the first inning, one in the second and one in the fifth. The Lions finished with six runs and held the Tigers to four. Samsung’s bullpen protected the lead through the late innings, and the Lions’ lineup delivered enough power and timely hitting to secure the Game 3 victory. Kia’s offense included home runs from Kim Do-yeong and Na Sung-bum, while Samsung got home runs from Díaz and Ryu. The Tigers had chances but left runners on base and could not close the gap. Samsung’s 10 hits and Kia’s 9 hits kept the game close throughout, and the Lions’ bullpen combined for scoreless work in the late innings.

The playoff series now stands with Samsung holding a 2-1 lead. The Lions’ season record is 83 wins, 59 losses and 3 ties. The Tigers’ season record is 82 wins, 65 losses and 2 ties. Samsung’s win came in Game 3 of the playoff series and gave the Lions the series advantage.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Samsung 3, Kia 8, and its ELO system had projected Kia with a 53.7 percent probability to win.