The KIA Tigers drove the professional baseball playoffs (PO, 3 wins out of 5 games) to the final 5th game with a thrilling upset.
In the 4th game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason PO held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do on the 30th, KIA scored 3 points in the 7th inning after being tied 1-2 and won 4-2 over the Samsung Lions.
The two teams, balanced with 2 wins and 2 losses, will face each other for the last time on November 1 at 2 p.m. at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.
In the beginning, it was Samsung's trend. Samsung's lower-order batting line hit KIA starter James Nail, whom they met again after four days, with concentrated hits and scored the first run. After one out in the second inning, Kim Young-woong and Kang Min-ho tied the game on first and second base with consecutive hits, and Ryu Ji-hyuk hit a timely hit to right.
Samsung had the same opportunity in the 4th inning to add an extra point with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd base thanks to consecutive hits by Kim Young-woong and Kang Min-ho, but this time they were unable to score. Then, KIA, who had been helplessly dragged down with only one hit by Samsung starting pitcher Chris Fedek, countered immediately in the bottom of the fourth inning. Leader Kim Do-young hit a single to center field and landed on second base with his quick feet, creating an opportunity to tie the game in an instant. Na Seong-beom was hit on the right arm by Fedek's ball, and with two outs and runners on first and second base, Junsu Han hit a timely hit that went through the side of the third baseman and rolled to the line, turning the game at 1-1 for the first time.
When KIA missed the opportunity to place 2nd and 3rd base with 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th inning due to Samsung first baseman Lewin Diaz's catching error and Kim Do-young's hit, Samsung ran away after changing offense and defense. Samsung Choi Hyeong-woo hit a 1-run home run with a large parabola to the right against Kwak Do-gyu, who had passed the baton after Nail had finished 5 innings with 1 run.
However, in the bottom of the 7th inning, when KIA was trailing 1-2, Samsung third baseman Kim Young-woong's 'snap' error caused Kim Do-young to reach second base, signaling the prelude to a comeback show. Immediately after, Harold Castro pushed Satoshi Miyamori's outside ball and delivered a single that passed through the shortstop, sending Kim Do-young home. With Kim Sun-bin's hit to right-center, with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd base, Junsu Han pulled a forkball from Samsung's 5th pitcher Lee Jae-hee, passing through the first baseman's side and rolling in front of right field for a timely hit. On first and third base, Ha Joo-seok hit a single to the left fielder to make it 4-2.
KIA brought in Jeon Sang-hyun to close the game in the 8th inning. Jeon Sang-hyun earned the save with two perfect innings. Fedek, who returned to the mound four days after throwing 94 balls in the first game of PO, pitched 99 balls and pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 run. Afterwards, the light and dark side of Game 4, which developed into a bullpen fight, was completely divided by Kim Young-woong's single mistake. Of the three points Satoshi gave up, none were earned. Cho Sang-woo, who appeared on the mound in the 6th inning and perfectly pitched 1⅔ innings, earned the victory.
Han Jun-su, who played as the designated hitter at number 6, hit 3 hits in 4 at-bats and scored 2 valuable RBIs with a tying run and a comeback hit, sweeping the Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Today's Batting Award given to the player who hit the game-winning hit, dominating the prize money of 2 million won. On this day, there were 10,000 spectators (18,900 people), making the fall baseball season sold out for 45 consecutive games since Game 1 of the 2023 Korean Series.
