Once candidate to be cut, Castro shows up for Tigers in KBO postseason win

DAEGU — About four months ago, the Kia Tigers considered cutting ties with first baseman Harold Castro.

But given how Castro has played this postseason in the KBO, the Tigers must be glad that they decided to keep him around.

Castro submitted yet another strong postseason game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Monday night, when the Tigers defeated the home team Samsung Lions 5-1 in Game 1 of the second round. The cleanup hitter went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Castro joined the Tigers this year but hit the sidelines in April with a left hamstring injury. The Tigers signed Aderlin Rodríguez as a short-term replacement, and Rodríguez made a strong case for a full contract by launching 10 home runs and driving in 31 runs in 31 games. He even became the first KBO player to hit four home runs as his first four hits to start a career in the KBO.

But Rodríguez rejected the Tigers’ offer for a new deal in June, citing only personal reasons. The Tigers, somewhat reluctantly, pivoted to Castro, who had only two homers and 16 RBIs in 23 games before his injury.

Castro then caught fire at the plate. He batted .409 with three homers in 11 games in June, then slugged seven homers in 21 games in July while batting .405.

He also had a strong finish to the regular season, with a .314/.359/.551 line and six home runs in his final 29 games.

Castro has stayed hot in the postseason, too. He led the Tigers with five hits in their three-game sweep of the LG Twins in the previous series. Then in Monday’s series opener against the Lions, Castro paced the offense from the cleanup spot.

He drove in the game’s first run with a two-out single off starter Chris Paddack in the top of the first. He alertly took two extra bases when right fielder Kim Seong-yoon’s throw sailed into the backstop and scored easily on Na Sung-bum’s follow-up double.

Castro then launched a two-run shot off Paddack in the third inning to push the Tigers’ lead to 4-0.

He said that he was looking for a cutter at the end of the nine-pitch battle.

“Paddack threw so many different types of pitches, and I just guessed that he could come at me with a cutter near the end,” Castro said. “I also hit a single off his cutter in the first inning. In the third, he threw me some curveballs and fastballs before throwing one cutter. I just felt [that] he was going to offer me another cutter in that particular moment, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”

The Lions gave Paddack the hook before he faced Castro for the third time in the game in the top of the fifth. Castro then greeted left-handed reliever Bae Chan-seung with a single for his third hit of the night.

Castro has played steady defense at first all postseason and helped turn a 3-6-3 double play that snuffed out a potential Lions rally.

It was a complete effort by a player who came close to not even making it this far with the Tigers.

Kim Do-yeong is still the face of the Tigers after leading the KBO with 45 home runs in the regular season and belting three home runs in the previous postseason series against the LG Twins. He also doubled and scored twice on Monday.

KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul, whose team is awaiting the winner of this series, has said that Castro, not Kim Do-yeong, is the one to watch should the Wiz take on the Tigers.

When informed of these words, Castro said, “I think that all nine guys in our lineup today are dangerous. If all nine of us play for the team, then I think that our opponents have to be wary of every one of us.”

“I appreciate those words, but I am just trying to do my job,” he continued. “I am only focusing on getting better every game, and I am not paying attention to anything else.”

Yonhap