(Daegu = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Kyung-yoon = KT Wiz, which is on the brink, will appoint foreign pitcher Davis Daniel, and Samsung Lions, who are one win away from winning, will appoint native ace Won Tae-in as the starter for Game 5 of the Korean Series (KS, 4 wins out of 7).
KT coach Lee Kang-cheol and Samsung coach Jin-man Park announced the two pitchers as starters for Game 5 after the 2026 Professional Baseball KS Game 4 held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 7th.
Daniel and Won Tae-in will face off in a battle they cannot back down from in the 5th round of KS held at the same venue on the 8th.
Right-handed pitcher Daniel is the ace who led KT to victory in the first game of KS on the 3rd.
Daniel pitched well with 5 hits (1 home run), 7 strikeouts, and 3 runs in 6 innings, and KT won 8-7.
At that time, Daniel shut out the Samsung batting lineup with only two hits until the 6th inning, but was replaced in the 7th inning after giving up a left-field hit to Seung-gyu Park, a left-field home run to Ja-wook Koo, and a right-field hit to Lewin Diaz.
Ahead of the 4th KS game on the 6th, Daniel said, "In the 1st game of KS, I had good control of my fastball and changeup, and my sweeper was also effective against right-handed hitters. This is my first time throwing a ball at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, and since it is a stadium where a lot of long balls are made, I plan to focus on inducing ground balls."
He expressed confidence, saying, “I have experience throwing balls in high-altitude stadiums (where many long balls are made), including Salt Lake City in the U.S.” and “I prepared perfectly.”
Daniel has never met Samsung in the regular season.
Since KT, the regular season champion, is behind KS with 1 win and 3 losses, if Daniel falters early in the game, the bullpen may immediately launch an all-out effort.
Samsung fights back with the Won Tae-in card.
Won Tae-in was initially in charge of temporary closer due to the absence of existing closer Kim Jae-yoon due to injury.
He appeared as a bullpen in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th games of the playoffs (PO, 3 wins in 5 games) against the KIA Tigers, and appeared as a bullpen in the 2nd game in KS.
However, Won Tae-in returned to his starting position after Choi Won-tae, the existing starter, lost early in two consecutive games.
Won Tae-in pitched in 5 games against KT in this year's regular season, with an average ERA of 1 win and 3 losses. It recorded 3.25.
He showed weakness with 5 hits in 13 at-bats (batting average 0.385) against KT foreign batter Sam Hilliard and 4 hits in 12 at-bats (batting average 0.333) against Kim Sang-soo, but was strong against Heo Gyeong-min (batting average 0.111) and Kim Min-hyuk (0.091).
Won Tae-in met with reporters ahead of the 4th KS game on the 6th and said, "I can't say I'm in good condition, but I will catch each batter well," and expressed his determination, "I will do my best to win the last KS game held at home."
He also said, “If KS continues into games 6 and 7, everyone will be on standby in the bullpen.”
Samsung's bullpen pitchers are tired, and Won Tae-in needs to play as many innings as possible, as Samsung has put in an all-out effort starting with the PO.
