In brief
In a 10‑5 win at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Samsung’s 19‑year‑old Jang Chan‑hee mixed a solid outing for four innings while the offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first. The win gives the Lions a 3‑1 series advantage, placing them one game away from their first Korean Series title in 12 years.
The Samsung Lions secured a critical 10‑5 victory over the KT Wiz in Game 4 of the Korean Series, clinching a 3‑1 lead in the best‑of‑seven bid for the championship. The win was played at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on Saturday and positions the Lions one step from the first Korean Series title in a dozen years.
Early in the game the Lions trailed 1‑0 after Jang Jin‑hyuk of the Wiz lifted a solo home run off starter Jang Chan‑hee on his ninth pitch. Jang’s first inning was, however, all but a blip; after walking the following batter he finished without allowing a second run.
The Lions’ offense answered in the bottom of the first. After two singles and a walk, Lewin Diaz pulled off a single to tie the game at 1‑1. Kim Young‑woong followed with a single that made it 2‑1, and then Lee Jae‑hyeon walked, giving starter Logan Allen a run by a pitch clipped to Ryu Ji‑hyuk’s elbow guard.
No. 9 hitter Kim Do‑hwan capped that onslaught with a bases‑clearing double that pushed the score to 6‑1. Kim’s deep fly, which landed on the warning track, was missed by left fielder Ahn Hyun‑min and proved to be the difference.
Samsung’s pitcher Jang Chan‑hee, 19‑years‑old, delivered four solid innings, allowing only one run on two hits, while he poured out 63 pitches and kept the Wiz at bay through the fourth inning. The young starter was the second youngest to start a Korean Series game, following 20‑year‑old Sun Kyu‑ho in 2015.
In the fifth, the Wiz breached the plate three times without a hit. Satoshi Miyamori’s single and two walks prompted a walk to Bae Chan‑seung, who allowed a run on a groundout in the sixth. Three consecutive free passes in the same frame pushed the score to 7‑4.
Lee Jae‑hee was summoned to mop up in the same inning, striking out Kim Sang‑su and retiring Heo Kyoung‑min on an infield pop fly after a string of seven four‑seam fastballs. Lee finished the game with two perfect innings, adding three strikeouts and an impressive 12‑run inning economy.
The combined tally of 19 walks and hit‑by‑pitches set a record for the most via 20‑walk games in Korean Series history, the most ever for a single game in a Korean Series context.
Lions manager Park Jin‑man remarked before the contest that he hoped Jang would continue to pitch with the confidence and fearlessness he displayed all season, a tone he maintained after seeing Jang line up the line filters in the second and third innings.
Key offensive contributors also included No. 2 hitter Park Seung‑kyu, who had three runs batted in, and 19‑year‑old outfielder Jang Jin‑hyuk, who opened the game for the Wiz with a home run.
With the series now at a 3‑1 deadlock, the Lions have only one remaining opponent to beat for a championship ring. The 19 previous occasions when a team trailed 3‑1, only the 2013 Lions overcame the deficit to win; the newly assembled Samsung squad had the opportunity to become the second.
In the weeks leading up to the series, Samsung’s regular season record of 66‑38‑9 and a postseason run that included a sweep in the Korean League Play‑offs produced strong momentum in the locker room. Their pro‑active roster construction produced depth in both starting rotation and bullpen, which appears to pay dividends now.
Game 5, slated for 2 p.m. Sunday in Daegu, will decide the championship. If the Lions can hold their own over the Wiz’s disaster‑inherited lead, they may complete an impressive comeback that underscores the rise of their young talent and the strength of a disciplined pitching staff.
The ability of the Lions’ 19‑year‑old starter, Jang Chan‑hee, to change the game's narrative after a rocky start points to a broader theme: the value of resilience and depth in crucial playoff moments.
Meanwhile, the stars of the Wiz, such as Koo Ja‑wook, who singled early for the home field advantage, will need to regroup as they face a Lions lineup that now has recently demonstrated its power in the bottom of the first.
Moving forward, the analysis from sports experts suggests that the Tigers’ quality of pitching – led by a stalwart bullpen and a competent young starter – positions them as the primary challengers to the historic run of the Lions, a run they could bring to fruition if the rest of the series goes in their favor.
