Kia takes second-round playoff opener against Samsung thanks to Kim Do-yeong, Castro

DAEGU — The Tigers emerged victorious from the Lions’ den. The Kia Tigers, powered by strong performances from the heart of their batting order, defeated the Samsung Lions in Game 1 of the second round of the KBO playoffs.

They beat Samsung 5-1 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on Monday to take the opening game of the best-of-five series.

Kim Do-yeong, batting third, delivered a standout performance. Samsung starter Chris Paddack did not allow either of the two batters ahead of Kim — Park Jung-woo and Park Jae-hyun — to reach base throughout the game. But Kim repeatedly reached base on his own and created scoring opportunities for the batters behind him.

In the top of the first inning, Paddack tried to lure Kim into swinging at pitches just outside the strike zone, including three consecutive curveballs, but the batter remained patient and drew a walk before stealing second base.

Harold Castro then drove him home with an RBI single. Samsung right fielder Kim Seong-yoon’s errant throw to home plate enabled Castro to advance to third, and Na Sung-bum followed with a double down the left-field line to give Kia a 2-0 lead.

Kim Do-yeong sparked another scoring opportunity in the third inning, hitting a single to left field with two outs. Castro followed with a two-run homer to right-center field off Paddack, extending Kia’s lead to 4-0.

Han Jun-su added a solo home run in the fourth, making the score 5-0.

Kim Do-yeong flew out to right field in the fifth inning, but not before forcing Paddack to throw 13 pitches in the at-bat, setting a record for the most pitches thrown to a single batter in an at-bat during the second round of the KBO playoffs. Paddack left the mound after five innings.

Kim Do-yeong led the eighth inning with a double off Lee Seung-min that struck the center-field wall. Believing the ball would clear the fence for a home run, Kim Do-yeong initially jogged toward first base. But he missed his chance to reach third and was left stranded as the following batters failed to drive him home.

Throughout the game, Kim Do-yeong excelled at setting the table for his teammates rather than driving in runs himself. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

Kia starter James Naile allowed a leadoff single to Kim Ji-chan in the bottom of the first inning but induced a double play from Kim Seong-yoon before going on to retire 12 consecutive batters.

His outing abruptly ended in the fifth inning when a 146-kilometer-per-hour (91-mile-per-hour) two-seam fastball struck Park Seung-kyu in the back of the head with one out. Under KBO rules, pitchers are automatically ejected if they hit a batter in the head with a fastball, regardless of intent.

Kia’s bullpen then stepped up. Jung Hai-young, Lee Eui-lee, Cho Sang-woo, Kwak Do-gyu and Jeon Sang-hyun took the mound in succession for a combined 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

The defense also contributed. Despite shortstop Park Min’s error, Kim Do-yeong made a catch on a foul fly ball while crashing into the wall. Left fielder Park Jae-hyun pulled off an impressive diving catch.

Castro was named the game’s MVP after going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.

“Our hitters did a good job attacking Paddack early in the game, and our relievers also did well to get through their innings,” Kia manager Lee Bum-ho said. “We had a bullpen plan in place if Naile pitched five innings, and we planned to bring in [Jung] if his outing was shorter. It was unexpected, but we had prepared for that possibility, so the pitchers who came in were able to hold things down without losing their composure.”

The manager added that Kim Do-yeong’s ability to create scoring opportunities was crucial and that Castro had capitalized on them well.

“I think that we need to focus on improving the concentration of our lower-order hitters and the top two batters in the lineup,” manager Lee added.

Kim Do-yeong expressed his satisfaction with the opening victory.

“The first game was important, so I’m happy that we won,” he said. “I’ve hit a lot of home runs, so I expected pitchers to be especially careful with me. Whenever I reach first base, I always want to get to second. I had a feeling that Castro would get a hit, so I kept running with the mindset that I was going all the way home.”

Regarding his 13-pitch battle with Paddack, Kim Do-yeong said that he had deliberately tried to extend the at-bat to drive up the pitcher’s pitch count.

“His pitch count was already high early in the game, so I thought that it would be better to get him out of the game sooner,” he said. “Normally, I would have tried to be a little more aggressive at the plate, but this time, I wanted to make the at-bat last as long as possible.”

He also explained why he had initially slowed down after hitting the double in the eighth inning.

“I caught it near the end of the bat, but I thought that it was going over the fence,” he said. “It ended up going to the deepest part of the ballpark and didn’t clear the wall. The manager had told us to be careful on the basepaths because we had a big lead, so even though I got a late start, I didn’t try to force my way to third.”

Game 2 will take place at the same stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Samsung will start Ariel Jurado, while Kia will send Adam Oller to the mound.

BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [[email protected]]