'This can't be' — Not Samsung's Felix against KIA → Is the draw luck even on their side... They defied everyone's predictions

*This content was translated by AI.

The KIA Tigers have secured all three games in their crucial series against the LG Twins, solidifying their hold on third place. It appears that favorable scheduling luck is also on their side. They even avoided Chris Felix, the Samsung Lions' foreign pitcher who was initially expected to start.

On the 5th, at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium, KIA defeated LG 6-4 in a comeback win during their away game in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

With this victory, KIA extended their winning streak to three games, following their 5-4 win in the first game of the series against LG on the 3rd and their 6-5 win on the 4th.

KIA has recorded a record of 75 wins, 61 losses, and 2 draws, firmly maintaining their third-place position. KIA widened the gap to fourth-place LG (75 wins, 63 losses, 1 draw) by one game.

Having played 138 games, KIA has only six games remaining.

First, KIA will move to Gwangju to face Samsung on the 6th.

Samsung lost 5-7 in a home game against the Doosan Bears at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 4th, confirming their second-place finish in the regular season. As a result, rather than fighting with everything they have in the game against KIA, they can now conserve energy and prepare for the playoffs.

Furthermore, in the game against KIA on the 6th, Samsung named Jang Chan-hee as the starting pitcher instead of Felix, who was initially expected to start.

Jang has appeared in 39 games this season, alternating between starting and relief roles, recording a record of 4 wins, 5 losses, and 3 holds with an ERA of 4.30. Over a total of 73⅓ innings, he has allowed 72 hits (12 home runs), issued 28 walks, struck out 55 batters, and conceded 37 runs (35 earned). His WHIP is 1.36, and the batting average against him is 0.255.

Against KIA this season, he has posted a strong record of an ERA of 2.19 without any wins or losses in seven games. Over a total of 12⅓ innings, he has allowed 13 hits (1 home run), issued 2 walks, struck out 8 batters, and conceded 5 runs (3 earned), with a batting average against him of 0.260.

KIA Manager Lee Beom-ho spoke about the remaining games ahead of the game against LG at Jamsil on the 5th, stating, "It doesn't matter to us whether the opponent is in the upper or lower tier. The situation can change completely depending on that day's condition and the starting pitcher matchup." He added, "I understand Samsung will have Felix pitching again, so I'm worried about facing their ace continuously." However, as a result, they ended up facing Jang Chan-hee as the opposing starter instead of Felix.

After finishing their series against Samsung, KIA will move east to face Lotte at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 7th. Following a day of rest, they will play against the NC Dinos in Changwon on the 9th. Then, KIA will return to Gwangju for another three-game series. They will face the SSG Landers on the 10th and clash with Lotte again on the 11th. Finally, they will play their last regular season game against LG on the 12th. For KIA, securing third place before meeting LG would be the ideal scenario. In fact, few experts predicted that KIA would rise to third place before the start of the season. However, KIA has defied all such predictions and is now sprinting toward the end of the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.