Samsung Beats KIA 6-1 to Reach Korean Series Against KT

Jurado and Kim send Samsung into the final

The Samsung Lions advanced to the 2026 Korean Series with a 6-1 victory over the KIA Tigers on Nov. 1, combining seven strong innings from Ariel Jurado with three hits and three runs batted in from leadoff hitter Kim Ji-chan. A sellout crowd of 23,550 watched the deciding fifth game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Samsung won the series 3-2 and will face the regular season champion KT Wiz in a championship series in which the first team to win four games takes the title. Game 1 is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Korea time at KT Wiz Park in Suwon.

Jurado, a right-handed pitcher from Panama, allowed five hits, two walks and one unearned run in the clincher. He won both of his starts against KIA and received 47 of the 79 media votes for the series Most Valuable Player award. Choi Hyoung-woo received 20 votes and Ryu Ji-hyuk five.

Samsung is seeking its ninth championship and its first since 2014. The Lions also reached the Korean Series in 2024, when KIA defeated them. This time, Samsung ended the Tigers' season one round before the championship.

Four early runs put KIA under pressure

Samsung scored against KIA starter Adam Oller in each of the first two innings. Kim Ji-chan opened the bottom of the first with a single, and Koo Ja-wook drew a walk with one out. Choi then singled up the middle with two outs, bringing Kim home for a 1-0 lead.

The second inning brought the decisive burst. Kang Min-ho, Lee Jae-hyeon, Kim and Park Seung-kyu delivered four consecutive hits with one out. Kim's single drove in two runners, extending the lead to 3-0. He then stole second base and scored on Park's single to make it 4-0.

Oller lasted only two innings, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk. His difficult outing followed a loss in Game 2, when he gave up five runs on five hits, including a home run, over four and two-thirds innings.

Samsung finished with 11 hits. Kim's contribution went beyond reaching base: his three runs batted in accounted for half the team's total, while his stolen base in the second inning put him in position to score on a single.

Jurado turns a winless record into an MVP award

Jurado entered this postseason without a win in four previous playoff starts. Against KIA, he delivered two of the series' most valuable performances, helping Samsung recover from its opening defeat and then winning the game that decided who advanced.

In Game 2, he threw 108 pitches and allowed two runs on five hits over six and two-thirds innings. Five days later, he worked seven innings without allowing an earned run. Across those two starts, he recorded a 1.32 earned run average over 13 and two-thirds innings.

An earned run average, or ERA, expresses how many runs a pitcher allows per nine innings after excluding runs classified as unearned because of defensive errors. Jurado allowed three runs in the series, but only two counted toward his ERA.

Jurado, Samsung's starting pitcher and the series MVP, said the individual award came as a surprise:

I am so happy with this award. I honestly didn't expect this. I just wanted to do my best to help the team win.

His Game 5 pitch selection gave KIA several different speeds and movements to handle. He threw 36 changeups, 26 two-seam fastballs, 10 curveballs and 10 cutters. A changeup looks similar to a faster pitch as it leaves the hand but arrives more slowly, disrupting a hitter's timing.

KIA reaches base but cannot build a rally

KIA scored its only run in the third inning. Ha Ju-suk reached on an error by Samsung first baseman Lewin Diaz, and Park Jae-hyun drove him home with a two-out triple to right field. The error made the run unearned, leaving Samsung ahead 4-1.

Jurado repeatedly stopped KIA from turning other baserunners into runs. A leadoff walk in the second inning was followed by a double play. Harold Castro singled to open the fourth, and Kim Tae-gun singled with one out in the fifth, but neither inning produced a score.

The sixth brought a more serious threat. Kim Do-yeong reached on an error at third base, and Na Sung-bum singled, leaving runners on first and second with one out. Jurado struck out Kim Sun-bin and Han Jun-su in succession to end the inning.

A double play helped Jurado through the seventh as well. Samsung then used left-handed pitcher Lee Seung-min for a scoreless eighth and Won Tae-in, working from the bullpen this postseason, for a scoreless ninth.

Samsung made two errors behind Jurado, but he said he kept encouraging his fielders. The pitcher described the message he gave his teammates:

I told my teammates that everything was okay and that they could always go get the next ball hit at them. Small mistakes can always happen.

Yang steadies the game before Samsung adds two

KIA turned to veteran starter Yang Hyeon-jong in relief at the beginning of the third inning, trailing 4-1. Samsung greeted him with two consecutive singles, but Yang escaped without allowing a run and then recorded nine straight outs.

Yang's work kept the deficit at three runs while KIA searched for a response against Jurado. The Tigers' failure to score in the sixth left that opportunity unused.

Samsung extended its lead in the bottom of the sixth. Kim Ji-chan hit a triple, and Park Seung-kyu followed with a single as the Lions added two runs to make it 6-1. Park's hit ended Yang's appearance.

The late support gave Jurado a five-run lead for his final inning. After completing the seventh, he embraced catcher Kang Min-ho on his way back to the dugout and received a handshake from pitching coach Choi Yil-yeon.

Why KIA kept its batting order

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho used the same lineup that had produced 10 hits in a 4-2 victory in Game 4. That win in Gwangju had kept the Tigers alive and forced the deciding game in Daegu.

The order placed Kim Do-yeong second, Harold Castro third and Na Sung-bum fourth. Each had moved up one position for Game 4 as Lee tried to give his strongest hitters more chances near the top of the lineup.

Kim entered Game 5 with seven hits in the series but only one run batted in, from a solo home run. He had led the regular season with 45 home runs and added four more in KIA's first seven postseason games. Getting runners on base ahead of him had been a problem.

Lee also prepared his hitters for pitches high in the strike zone. KIA had struggled with those pitches in Games 2 and 3, including against Jurado. The KBO's automated ball-strike system uses technology to determine whether a pitch passes through the strike zone, rather than leaving that judgment to a human umpire.

Before Game 5, Lee said his team needed to attack pitches that missed toward the middle of the zone. Samsung's starter instead kept escaping trouble through a mixture of pitch movement, changes of speed and timely strikeouts.

Eight postseason games end with lessons for KIA

KIA reached the playoffs after a tight contest with LG for third place in the regular season. The Tigers then swept LG, the 2025 champions, in three games before taking Samsung to the limit over five more.

Lee said before the deciding game that his players were tired. Their demanding stretch had begun in early October, when they were still fighting for third place and the chance to skip the opening wild card stage.

After the loss, Lee said he had no issue with his players' effort or performance in Game 5. Asked about leaving Oller on the mound during the difficult second inning, the KIA manager said:

Everyone gave their best effort in this game and I don't have issues with how our players performed today.

Lee won the 2024 Korean Series in his first year as manager, beating Samsung in five games. This defeat was his first postseason series loss in three years in charge. He described the eight games this autumn as a valuable experience in managing playoff baseball.

Lee said KIA would need to identify its weaknesses and get more from its younger players to challenge again in 2027. He also warned against assuming another postseason appearance would follow automatically.

How the teams reached this point

Samsung's route to the final included an opening loss, two successive victories and a defeat that forced a deciding game. KIA's postseason lasted eight games across two rounds, while KT qualified directly for the Korean Series by finishing first in the regular season.

• Oct. 11: Jurado allowed six runs in four innings against KT in his final regular season start.
• Oct. 12: KT played its regular season finale before beginning its wait for the Korean Series.
• Oct. 27: Jurado won Game 2 against KIA, allowing two runs over six and two-thirds innings.
• Oct. 30: KIA won Game 4 by 4-2 in Gwangju, tying the series at two wins apiece.
• Nov. 1: Samsung won Game 5 by 6-1 in Daegu to advance.
• Nov. 3: The Korean Series is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in Suwon.

The schedule gives Samsung one day between the deciding playoff game and the championship opener. KT, by contrast, will enter Game 1 after more than three weeks without a competitive game.

KT presents a different test

Samsung won nine of its 16 regular season meetings with KT, losing seven. The Lions were the only team to finish the 2026 regular season with a winning record against the Wiz.

Jurado's most recent appearance against KT was less encouraging for Samsung. On Oct. 11, he allowed six runs on six hits, including two home runs, in four innings. It was his shortest start of the year.

Jurado, now in his fourth KBO season and preparing for his first Korean Series, said each game brings a different challenge:

Things like that can happen in baseball. Every game is different. When I make mistakes or don't pitch as well as I want to, then I just have to work harder. I think that is what has gotten me this far.

KT is pursuing its second championship after winning in 2021. The Wiz also reached the 2023 Korean Series, losing to LG. Samsung is making its second championship appearance in three seasons and seeking to end a title drought stretching back to 2014.

Samsung manager Park Jin-man said advancing had cleared another stage toward the team's championship goal and that the Lions would prepare to carry their current energy into the final. KT manager Lee Kang-chul described Samsung as a difficult opponent with stable pitching and hitting, while saying his team would stick to its own style of baseball.

Key Points

• Samsung defeated KIA 6-1 in Game 5 in Daegu to win the series 3-2.
• Ariel Jurado pitched seven innings with one unearned run and won the series MVP award.
• Kim Ji-chan collected three hits and drove in three of Samsung's six runs.
• KIA's season ended after eight postseason games, including a three-game sweep of LG.
• Samsung faces KT in the Korean Series beginning Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Suwon.
• Samsung seeks its ninth championship; KT seeks its second.