Daegu: For the second time in three games of the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series, the Samsung Lions were kept in check by one overpowering weapon out of the Hanwha Eagles' bullpen Tuesday night. The Lions faced challenges after dominating an opposing starter for the third consecutive game.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Lions dropped Game 3 of the best-of-five series by a narrow 5-4 margin at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They managed to score all their runs off the Eagles' starter, Ryu Hyun-jin. In Game 1, the Lions had scored six runs in six innings off Cody Ponce, the regular-season Triple Crown winner, but still lost 9-8. The Lions rallied in the next game, overcoming starter Ryan Weiss in just four innings for a 7-3 victory.
However, the Lions have struggled against Moon Dong-ju, the starter-turned-reliever who has consistently delivered fastballs past the Lions' hitters. Moon struck out four in two shutout innings in Game 1 and delivered a record-breaking fastball at 161.6 kph. He continued his dominance on Tuesday, striking out six in four scoreless innings, with his fastball reaching up to 157 kph.
Despite their power-hitting abilities, the Lions hit two home runs off Ryu's changeup and curveball, but failed to connect with Moon's fastballs. This struggle might be linked to the fatigue they have accumulated during the postseason. As the No. 4 seed, the Lions began their postseason journey in the wild card round, taking two games to eliminate the NC Dinos. They then faced the SSG Landers, defeating them in a four-game series over six days.
Postseason fatigue was evident in Game 3's starter, Ariel Jurado, who allowed five runs on nine hits over seven innings. Jurado, who pitched 197 1/3 innings during the regular season, had previously held the Eagles to just one run over 14 innings.
Before the game, Lions veteran Ryu Ji-hyuk expressed that playing multiple games in a short period kept the team sharp, as they treated these games like regular-season contests. Despite his comments, the Lions seem to be facing fatigue. The KBO's postseason structure favors teams with superior regular-season records. The top seed, LG Twins, awaits the winner of this series in the Korean Series, highlighting the challenge for lower-seeded teams.
Historically, no fourth seed has won a championship under the current postseason format, with only four No. 4 seeds reaching the Korean Series, all occurring before the introduction of the wild card round in 2015.