Park Jin-man, who envisions a "Game 5 victory in Daegu," states: "Goal is 1 win and 1 loss in Suwon → Only then can we close it out at home" [KS1 On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Park Jin-man (50), manager of the Samsung Lions who advanced through the playoffs, revealed a specific roadmap toward winning the Korea Series. His plan is to secure at least one win and one loss in the Suwon road games before closing out the series with a Game 5 victory at home in Daegu.

Samsung will play the first game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Korea Series (best-of-seven) on the road against the KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 3rd. Having reached the Korea Series stage after a grueling five-game playoff, Samsung aims to seize the early initiative against KT, who finished first in the regular season.

Manager Park Jin-man, who met with reporters before the game, emphasized his answer when asked about the goal for Games 1 and 2 on the road: "We must achieve at least one win and one loss to be able to end it in Game 5 in Daegu." This was read as a strong expression of confidence that they would not drag out the series and would pop the champagne in front of their home fans in Game 5.

Manager Park explained, "KT will likely want to play until Game 5 and then come back up (to Suwon), but we want to end it in Game 5 in Daegu." He added, "We must secure at least one win on the road to be able to wrap up the series through the three-game homestand in Daegu (Games 3-5)."

He placed more weight on the unique "momentum" and "surge" of a short series rather than the fatigue from playing five playoff games. Manager Park stated, "In a short series, the battle of atmosphere is most important." He predicted, "(In autumn baseball) the team that has been waiting will inevitably feel a heavy burden in the first game. On the other hand, we came up after winning Game 5 with great difficulty, so our team's atmosphere and momentum are at their peak. If we maintain that flow, we can certainly achieve a good result."

However, he also recalled the painful memory of experiencing the KT home ground in Suwon during his time with the Hyundai Unicorns. Mentioning the 2000 Korea Series against Doosan, Manager Park said, "At that time, we took an early three-game lead but then lost three straight games, bleeding out until Game 7. I still vividly remember how we became complacent after the three-game lead. I felt deeply at that moment that one must never be complacent in a short series. This time too, we must seize the advantage when we can definitely win."

He also previewed an all-out effort to achieve results beyond one win and one loss on the road. In particular, Manager Park Jin-man stated regarding the possibility of starting pitcher Choi Won-tae struggling early: "(If he collapses early) I plan to manage it similarly to how we did in Game 3 of the playoffs." Choi Won-tae allowed two runs in 1⅔ innings before handing the mound over to Bae Chan-seung in Game 3 of the playoffs against the KIA Tigers on October 29.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original