Ariel Jurado Leads Samsung Lions Past KIA Into Korean Series

The Samsung Lions are back in the Korean Series after beating the KIA Tigers 6-1 in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Ariel Jurado held KIA to one unearned run across seven innings, while leadoff hitter Kim Ji-chan went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Samsung won the best-of-five playoff 3-2 and will face the regular-season champion KT Wiz for the KBO title.

Samsung attacks Adam Oller early

Samsung took control before KIA starter Adam Oller could settle into the game. Kim opened the first inning with a single, moved into scoring position on Park Seung-gyu’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Choi Hyoung-woo lined a two-out single through the middle.

The Lions broke the game open one inning later. Kang Min-ho singled and Lee Jae-hyun doubled to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Kim attacked Oller’s first pitch and sent a two-run single into right field, then stole second and scored when Park singled up the middle.

Oller was removed after two innings, six hits and four runs. Samsung had turned its first eight hits into a 4-0 lead and forced KIA to ask veteran starter Yang Hyeon-jong for 3⅔ innings of emergency relief.

Ariel Jurado closes KIA’s comeback routes

KIA scored its only run in the third after Lewin Díaz’s error put Ha Ju-suk on base and Park Jae-hyun drove him home with a two-out triple. Jurado allowed traffic again in the sixth, when another error and Na Sung-bum’s single gave the Tigers two runners with one out.

That was KIA’s best chance to change the game. Jurado struck out Kim Sun-bin and Han Jun-su in succession, preserving the three-run cushion and ending the threat.

Samsung answered immediately. Ryu Ji-hyuk singled in the bottom of the sixth, and Kim brought him home with an RBI triple to left. Park followed with another run-scoring single for a 6-1 lead.

Jurado finished after 95 pitches, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out three. Lee Seung-min handled the eighth inning, and Game 5 starter-turned-reliever Won Tae-in recorded the final three outs.

Jurado was named playoff series MVP after winning Games 2 and 5. Across those two starts, he allowed three runs in 13⅔ innings and twice stopped KIA from taking control of the series.

Samsung earns another shot at the KBO title

The Lions clinched in front of a sellout crowd of 23,550 and reached the Korean Series for the second time in three seasons. They finished as runners-up to KIA in 2024 and are now seeking their ninth championship and first since 2014.

KT has been waiting since its regular-season finale on October 12 after earning a direct place in the championship series. The best-of-seven Korean Series begins Tuesday, November 3, at 6:30 p.m. local time at KT Wiz Park in Suwon.

Samsung will arrive with momentum from a five-game playoff and an ace who has already delivered twice under elimination-level pressure. The question now is whether that sharpness can overcome a KT club entering the series fully rested.