The KIA Tigers were defeated by the Samsung Lions, led by pitcher Ariel Hurado, in the KBO playoff series.
The playoff record between the two teams stands at 1 win and 1 loss.
Games 3 and 4 will take place in Gwangju on the 29th and 30th, with the first team to secure two more victories advancing to face the KT Wiz in the Korean Series.
On the 27th, KIA lost to Samsung 8-3 in the second game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League playoffs held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
Both teams started with foreign pitchers in the second game.
KIA's starter Adam Oller struggled, allowing 5 hits and 5 earned runs over 4.2 innings, while Samsung's Hurado effectively contained the KIA lineup.
Hurado pitched 6.2 innings, throwing 108 pitches, giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs, with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. KIA found it difficult to score against Hurado throughout the game.
KIA took an early lead when Hah Joo-seok hit a leadoff single in the second inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kim Ho-ryeong.
Park Jae-hyun then hit a strong ground ball toward first base. Samsung's first baseman, Diaz, caught the ball, but Park reached first base safely, creating a 1st and 3rd base opportunity.
Designated hitter Lee Ho-yeon followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Hah to score, putting KIA ahead 1-0.
Samsung quickly responded. In the bottom of the second, leadoff hitter Ryu Ji-hyuk drew a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lee Jae-hyun. Park Seung-kyu then hit an RBI double, tying the game.
Samsung continued its offensive. Gu Ja-wook hit a timely single, bringing home Park Seung-kyu and turning the score to 2-1 in favor of Samsung. With two outs and a runner on first, Samsung's cleanup hitter Diaz hit a two-run homer off Oller's 151 km/h fastball.
The score gap widened in the fifth inning. Oller retired the leadoff hitter Kim Ji-chan with a pop-up but allowed an infield single to Park Seung-kyu before leaving the mound.
Reliever Lee Eui-ri struggled, issuing a walk to Gu Ja-wook and hitting Diaz with a pitch, creating a bases-loaded situation. He then allowed a walk to Choi Hyung-woo, extending Samsung's lead to 5-1.
Reliever Seong Yeong-tak managed to limit the damage in the bases-loaded situation.
In the sixth inning, Samsung's offense increased the score gap further. After one out, Seong allowed consecutive hits to Ryu Ji-hyuk and Lee Jae-hyun, putting runners on first and second. Kim Ji-chan then hit a double, adding another run.
In the continued play, Park Seung-kyu hit a ball to center field. Although KIA's Kim Ho-ryeong caught it, he could not prevent the third base runner Lee Jae-hyun from scoring, extending the lead to 7-1.
KIA scored again in the seventh inning. Leadoff hitter Na Sung-bum drew a walk and advanced to second on a ground ball by Kim Sun-bin. Han Jun-soo then hit a single, creating a 1st and 3rd base opportunity.
As Kim Ho-ryeong stepped up to bat, Samsung's starter Hurado threw a wild pitch, allowing Na to score and KIA to narrow the gap.
However, in the bottom of the seventh, Samsung's Choi Hyung-woo hit a solo home run off Kim Beom-soo, effectively sealing the game.
KIA managed to score one more run in the eighth inning, but the outcome was already decided.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.