DAEGU (Interstat) — Ariel Jurado struck out six over seven innings, and the Samsung Lions defeated the KT Wiz 5-1 on Friday afternoon in Game 3 of their playoff series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea. The victory evened the series at 1-1. Jurado earned the win and improved to 10-1. KT’s So Hyeong-jun took the loss and fell to 7-4. Samsung, the home team, improved its season record to 86-61-3, while KT moved to 90-50-5.

KT struck first in the top of the first. Kim Min-hyuck doubled down the right-field line. After Ahn Hyun-min lined out to the pitcher and Kim Hyun-soo grounded out to short, Sam Hilliard doubled to center field to score Kim. Hilliard finished 2-for-4 with one RBI. Jang Sung-woo struck out to end the inning. Samsung answered in the bottom half. Kim Ji-chan singled to center field, Koo Ja-wook walked and Choi Hyoung-woo singled to left to score Kim Ji-chan. Lewin Díaz walked to load the bases, but Kim Young-woong grounded into a double play that retired Díaz at second and ended the threat. The first inning ended with the score tied at 1.

Samsung took control with a three-run rally in the second. Lee Jae-hyeon and Ryu Ji-hyuk opened the inning with walks. Kang Min-ho fouled out to the catcher. Kim Ji-chan walked to load the bases. Kim Seong-yoon reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Lee and retired Kim Ji-chan at second base; Ryu advanced to third. Koo then tripled to right field, scoring Kim Seong-yoon and Ryu. Koo finished 1-for-3 with two RBI. The rally gave Samsung a 4-1 lead and proved to be the decisive stretch of the game. So Hyeong-jun was charged with four earned runs on three hits and five walks over six innings, striking out six.

Jurado allowed one earned run on six hits over seven innings. He struck out six and did not permit KT to build a sustained rally after the first. KT had more hits than Samsung but could not string together enough offense. Cho Dae-hyun singled to right-center in the second, but Jang Jun-won struck out. Kim Hyun-soo singled to left-center in the third, but Hilliard struck out. Hilliard added an infield single in the sixth, and Ryu Hyun-in doubled down the right-field line in the seventh, but KT was held scoreless after the first. Samsung’s defense turned the double play in the first and kept KT from mounting a comeback.

The middle innings moved quickly. Lewin Díaz, Kim Young-woong and Lee Jae-hyeon went down in order for Samsung in the third. JT’s Kim Sang-su grounded out to short, Ryu Hyun-in grounded out to second and Cho Dae-hyun struck out in the fourth. Samsung’s Ryu Ji-hyuk grounded out to third, Kang Min-ho grounded out to short and Kim Ji-chan flied out to left in the bottom half. KT’s Jang Jun-won flied out to left and Kim Min-hyuck flied out to left in the fifth. Samsung’s Kim Seong-yoon grounded out to third, Koo struck out and Choi struck out. The Lions’ lead remained 4-1.

KT threatened briefly in the sixth when Hilliard reached on an infield single, but Jang Sung-woo flied out to center. In the bottom half, Díaz struck out, Kim Young-woong grounded out to second and Lee Jae-hyeon struck out. KT’s Kim Sang-su grounded out to second in the seventh before Ryu Hyun-in doubled, but Cho Dae-hyun popped out to short and Jang Jun-won grounded out to first. Samsung’s Ryu Ji-hyuk grounded out to second, Kang Min-ho was hit by a pitch and Kim Ji-chan reached on a fielder’s choice that retired Kang at second. Kim Seong-yoon then reached on a fielder’s choice that retired Kim Ji-chan at second, ending the inning.

Samsung’s bullpen finished the job. Kim Tae-hoon struck out two in a perfect inning, and Lee Seung-min allowed one hit while striking out one in a scoreless inning. Bae Je-seong recorded two outs with two walks and a strikeout for KT, Son Dong-hyun pitched a scoreless inning, and Kim Jeong-woon allowed one run on one hit in one-third of an inning. Park Seung-kyu added a solo home run later in the game, finishing 1-for-1 with one RBI. Choi produced Samsung’s first run with his first-inning single, and Koo drove in two with his triple. Samsung finished with four hits, while KT had seven. KT’s Hilliard had two hits and one RBI. Jurado’s recent form continued after a strong stretch that included seven scoreless innings in his previous outing.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of KT 9, Samsung 6. Interstat’s ELO system had projected KT with a 52.4 percent probability to win. Samsung had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over/under line of 8.5.