Samsung waited despite injuries... Jurado responded with fall baseball.

(Daegu·Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Dae-ho and Kim Kyung-yoon = When Ariel Jurado, the foreign ace of the professional baseball Samsung Lions, left the lineup due to a shoulder injury last July, there was a strong perception within the Samsung team that 'what was coming was coming.'

Jurado pitched more than 180 innings every year from 2023, when he debuted in the KBO League, to 2025.

Last year, he pitched 197⅓ innings in the regular season and 21 innings in the postseason, taking responsibility for a total of 218⅓ innings.

This year, ahead of the opening, he was selected for the Panama national team and returned to Samsung after playing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

No matter how durable it was, it was a schedule that was bound to put a strain on the body.

In the end, Hurado was in trouble.

However, Samsung did not replace Jurado.

The shoulder injury was a problem that could directly affect the pitcher's life, but the short-term replacement foreign pitcher Austin Boss was recruited to fill the void.

Even as Boss continued his performance, Samsung trusted Jurado and reassured him.

Jurado also accompanied the team to every away game.

After alleviating worries about being kicked out, Rado focused on recovery, and eventually returned in September and did his part.

And Jurado showed his true value in fall baseball.

He started in the second game of the playoffs (PO, 3 wins out of 5) against the KIA Tigers held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 27th and went 6⅔ innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs. The number of pitches was 108.

Samsung took advantage of Jurado's good pitching and won 8-3, bringing their PO record to 1 win and 1 loss.

The Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP) was not Lewin Diaz, who hit a two-run gun in the fourth inning, nor Choi Hyung-woo, who set the record for the oldest home run in the postseason, or Won Tae-in, who took the mound as a closing pitcher and ended the game. After laying the foundation for victory, Lado received it.

After the game, Samsung coach Park Jin-man said, “Hurado pitched close to perfect,” and KIA coach Lee Beom-ho also said, “We were unable to target Hurado.”

Jurado had the joy of becoming the first winning pitcher in the postseason (PS) in his fourth season since debuting in the KBO League.

Hurado, who attended the post-game press conference, said, "I didn't know that today was PS's first win, but I'm glad that we got a good result as all the players prepared hard. I thought it was important to maintain upper body balance in today's game, and I was able to pitch effectively because my change-up went well."

He continued, “I didn’t show a very good performance at the end of the regular season, but I thought I shouldn’t lose focus because of the result,” and added, “I think the effort I put in to make up for the bad points during the given time after the regular season ended translated into today’s game.”