The "Ohtani lookalike" who also found the fall baseball stage no easy feat: Samsung's bullpen support arm, who erased two innings with a "crazy great performance," earned high praise from Manager Park Jin-man [PO3 On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

With the "undisputed closer" Kim Jae-yoon (36) diagnosed with a two-week rest period due to a hamstring injury, effectively ruling him out for the season and leaving the Samsung Lions bullpen thin, right-hander Lee Jae-hee (25) took the mound in relief, delivering a perfect scoreless performance over two innings that laid the foundation for the team's victory.

On the 29th, at the Gwangju-KIA Champions Field, Samsung secured a narrow 6-4 victory over the KIA Tigers in Game 3 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Playoffs (PO, best-of-five series). With this win, Samsung took a 2-1 lead in the series, leaving them just one more win away from advancing to the Korea Series.

On this day, Samsung starter Choi Won-tae was removed early after allowing two runs in 1⅔ innings. Lee Jae-hee, who entered as the third pitcher following left-hander Bae Chan-seung, firmly steadied the wobbly mound and solidly supported Samsung's victory. Despite a major setback striking at the heart of the fall festival, the Samsung bullpen did not crumble.

In this crisis, Lee Jae-hee finally bore fruit. Just one month ago, in September, Manager Park Jin-man had stated that "it will not be easy for Choi Ji-gwang, Lee Jae-hee, Kim Mu-shin, and others to return to the first division within this regular season," making his very inclusion on the fall stage uncertain. Due to injury, his regular season appearances were limited to 21 games (with an ERA of 2.25). However, he returned to the first division on October 6, ramping up his condition in the final stretch, and finally made it onto the roster for his first-ever fall stage appearance.

The moment he took the mound was a truly breathless close game. Choi Won-tae could not even complete two innings, and second pitcher Bae Chan-seung managed to hold on with one run allowed in 1⅓ innings. With the bullpen activated early while the team clung to a razor-thin 3-2 lead, Lee Jae-hee took over the mound as the third pitcher in the top of the fourth inning.

Despite the pressure of his fall debut, his pitching was calm. He retired leadoff batter Kim Gyu-seong with an infield grounder to first base and Kim Tae-gun with a flyout to left field. Although he allowed a hit to Ha Ju-seok, he handled Park Jae-hyun with a flyout to first base, neatly wrapping up the first inning.

The highlight was the fifth inning. After striking out the first batter, Kim Ho-ryeong, with a sharp third-pitch strikeout, he faced the "Donas" trio, KIA's prized core lineup. Against the difficult hitter Kim Do-young, he intentionally engaged in an outside changeup battle, issuing a walk but remaining unshaken. He induced a flyout to third base from subsequent batter Harold Castro. In a 1-1 count, his third pitch, a four-seam fastball, dug deep and sharply into the body zone. In the following at-bat by Na Seung-beom, he thwarted Kim Do-young's attempt to steal second base, retiring the inning without allowing any runs.

After Lee Jae-hee erased two scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth, Won Tae-in took over the baton from the sixth inning onward. Without Lee Jae-hee's solid bridge pitching, Samsung's 6-4 victory would have been impossible. Lee Jae-hee, who normally cites Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) as his role model, wears number 17, and deeply studies his pitching form to be called the "Ohtani lookalike," proved on this mound that he possessed guts and crisis management skills that even Ohtani would envy.

Immediately after the Playoffs Game 3 victory, Manager Park Jin-man also offered high praise along with strong confidence. Manager Park said, "Lee Jae-hee must have felt a lot of pressure since it was his first postseason appearance, but he shut down two innings," adding, "In a situation where we had to activate the bullpen early because Won-tae came off early, he fulfilled his role. I now have expectations that he will play a big role in the bullpen going forward."

The turnaround performance of a pitcher whose participation in fall baseball was once uncertain instantly washed away the worries on the Samsung bench, which had deepened with Kim Jae-yoon's absence.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original