Lions beat Tigers to reach Korean Series

By Yoo Jee-ho

DAEGU, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- For the second time in three seasons, the Samsung Lions are headed to the Korean Series.

The Lions defeated the Kia Tigers 6-1 in Game 5 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Leadoff man Kim Ji-chan had three hits and three RBIs to back starter Ariel Jurado, who tossed seven strong innings to earn his second win of the series. Jurado, who threw 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball in his Game 2 victory last Tuesday, was voted the series MVP.

With a sellout crowd of 23,550 fans on hand, the Lions took the best-of-five series in five games to punch their ticket to the Korean Series, where they will face the regular-season champions KT Wiz.

The best-of-seven championship battle will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Wiz earned a bye to the Korean Series. They have not played since their regular-season finale on Oct. 12.

The Wiz are gunning for their second championship. They won it all in 2021 and lost to the LG Twins in the 2023 Korean Series.

The Lions are chasing their ninth championship and first since 2014. They were the runners-up to the Tigers in the 2024 Korean Series.