Koo Ja-wook, Ariel Jurado Lift Samsung to 2-1 Korean Series Lead

Koo Ja-wook drove a two-run triple off the right-field wall and Ariel Jurado delivered seven innings of one-run baseball as the Samsung Lions beat the KT Wiz 5-1 on Friday, November 6, to take a 2-1 lead in the 2026 Korean Series.

Samsung turned a 1-0 deficit into a three-run advantage during a decisive second inning at a sold-out Daegu Samsung Lions Park. The Lions won despite collecting only four hits, three fewer than KT, and moved two victories from their first Korean Series title since 2014.

Samsung turns walks into a four-run response

KT struck first when Kim Min-hyuk opened the game with a double and Sam Hilliard brought him home with a two-out double off the top of the center-field wall. Samsung answered immediately. Kim Ji-chan singled, Koo drew a walk and Choi Hyoung-woo lined an RBI single to tie the game in the bottom of the first.

KT starter So Hyeong-jun then lost the strike zone in the second. He walked the bases loaded before Kim Seong-yoon’s fielder’s-choice grounder put Samsung ahead. Koo followed by driving a triple off the top of the right-field wall, scoring two more runners for a 4-1 lead.

So had never walked more than two batters in a regular-season game, but he issued five walks to the first 10 Samsung hitters. He recovered to retire 13 consecutive batters and completed six innings, yet the early damage decided the game.

Jurado controls KT after the first inning

Jurado allowed six hits and one run over seven innings, striking out six while throwing 108 pitches. He worked around two-out singles in the second and third, retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth, and stranded a pinch-hit double by Jang Jin-hyuk in the seventh.

Park Seung-kyu, who entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth, ended Samsung’s five-inning hitless stretch with a solo home run in the eighth. Lee Seung-min and Kim Tae-hoon each followed with a scoreless inning to finish the victory.

KT outhit Samsung 7-4 but failed to score after the opening inning. Jurado improved to 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA across three starts this postseason.

Game 3 win gives Samsung the historical edge

The crowd of 23,550 watched Samsung become the 17th Game 3 winner in 19 Korean Series that were tied 1-1 after two games. Sixteen of the previous 18 Game 3 winners went on to capture the championship.

Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, at 2 p.m. Korea Standard Time at the same stadium in Daegu.