“The PO Game 5 Battle That Brought Disaster”: Samsung’s Painful “Starting Pitcher Mismatch” Makes the Late-Game Comeback Even More Regrettable [KS1 On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

In the end, it was a “disaster” brought about by the fierce battle in Game 5 of the playoffs (PO).

The Samsung Lions lost 7-8 to the KT Wiz in Game 1 of the 2026 KBO League Korea Series (KS) held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 3rd.

A disadvantage was expected from the very start with the starting pitchers. While KT fielded their top-caliber foreign pitcher Daniel (29) without much deliberation, Samsung took to the mound Choi Won-tae (29), who had served as the third starter in the PO. It amounted to a “mismatch,” to use a basketball analogy.

In the earlier PO against the KIA Tigers, FedEx started Game 4 on October 30, and Haro started Game 5 on November 1, following his start in Game 2 (October 27). Had the series ended in Game 4, Haro would have had a full six days of rest before taking the mound as the starter in KS Game 1. Similarly, FedEx could have taken the mound in Game 2 on the 4th after four days of rest, making it worth attempting to win the early part of the series with their foreign one-two punch.

However, because the PO extended to a final Game 5, Choi Won-tae had to be entrusted with the heavy responsibility of starting KS Game 1 instead of the two foreigners. Choi had started twice against KT in this year’s regular season, going winless with one loss and an ERA of 6.94, which was not very good. In the previous PO Game 3, he also allowed three hits and two runs over 1⅔ innings before being pulled early.

Samsung Manager Park Jin-man said ahead of the game regarding Choi Won-tae, “It would be best if he could handle a longer number of innings, but if any variables arise, we are preparing to manage the game similarly to how we did in PO Game 3.”

The result was harsher than the manager had anticipated. Choi collapsed before the bench could even react from the early stages.

Starting with a leadoff single by Choi Won-jun to center field in the bottom of the first inning, followed by Ahn Hyun-min’s walk, and then allowing Hilliard a double into left-center field, Samsung fell behind 2-0. With two outs, Ryu Ji-hyuk, Samsung’s second baseman, dropped Kim Sang-soo’s grounder (recorded as an infield hit), allowing one more run.

The bottom of the second inning ended with three consecutive strikeouts, seemingly stabilizing the game. However, in the bottom of the third, after allowing a double to center field by Kim Min-hyuk, Choi gave up a two-run home run to left field by Ahn Hyun-min. The score widened significantly to 0-5. Ultimately, Choi threw only 43 pitches over two innings, allowing five hits (one home run) and five runs before handing the mound to Yang Chang-seop.

Trailing 0-8, Samsung began a rally with Koo Ja-wook’s two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, closing the gap to one point. However, they were unable to overcome the massive early deficit. The game remained a painful regret due to the starting pitcher’s poor performance.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original