(ATTN: ADDS details from para 8, photos)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SUWON, South Korea, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The KT Wiz edged out the Samsung Lions 8-7 to open the South Korean baseball championship series at home Tuesday, after nearly blowing an eight-run lead in late innings.
Slugger Ahn Hyun-min smacked a two-run home run in his postseason debut and starter Davis Daniel threw six solid innings for the Wiz's victory in Game 1 of the Korean Series before a sellout crowd of 17,700 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul. Sam Hilliard had three hits and two RBIs from the cleanup spot.
Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting a two-run double against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting a two-run double against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
The Wiz enjoyed an 8-0 lead through six innings, before the Lions punched back with five runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.
Closer Park Yeong-hyun recorded the final five outs, the last three via strikeouts, to lock down the nervy victory.
The Wiz launched three home runs in this game, as the teams each had 10 hits.
Game 2 of this best-of-seven battle will also be in Suwon at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In the 42 previous editions of the Korean Series, Game 1 winners went on to capture the title 31 times.
Ahn Hyun-min of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Ahn Hyun-min of the KT Wiz celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
The Wiz wasted no time getting on the board, as they put up a three-spot in the bottom of the first.
Choi Won-jun led things off by singling off the very first pitch he saw from the starter Choi Won-tae. He stole second and then reached third on Choi Won-tae's wild pitch.
Ahn drew a walk to give the Wiz runners at the corners, and Hilliard brought both men home with a double to left-center field for a 2-0 lead.
Hilliard took third on a flyout by Kim Hyun-soo, and came home to make it a 3-0 game on an infield single by Kim Sang-su.
The Wiz opened up a 5-0 lead in the bottom third, courtesy of Ahn's two-run blast.
With a runner at second, Ahn drilled a middle-middle changeup from Choi and sent it just over the left field fence for his first career postseason homer.
It knocked Choi out of the game, as his postseason woes continued. His career postseason ERA now stands at 8.40, with 42 earned runs allowed in 45 innings.
KT Wiz starter Davis Daniel pitches against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
KT Wiz starter Davis Daniel pitches against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Han Seung-taek pushed the Wiz's lead to 6-0 with a solo home run in the bottom fifth.
Daniel more than held up his end of the bargain on the mound, with the Lions barely mounting any threat against the American right-hander.
Daniel erased the leadoff single by Kim Ji-chan in the first inning when he struck out Koo Ja-wook and catcher Han Seung-taek threw out Kim attempting to steal second base. He then held the Lions to just one more hit over the next five innings.
The Wiz staked Daniel to an 8-0 lead in the bottom sixth, thanks to Kim Hyun-soo's two-run home run.
The Lions made the game more interesting in the top seventh, as they finally showed some life against Daniel.
Kim Hyun-soo of the KT Wiz (R) celebrates with teammate Sam Hilliard after hitting a two-run home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Kim Hyun-soo of the KT Wiz (R) celebrates with teammate Sam Hilliard after hitting a two-run home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
After Park Seung-kyu's leadoff single, Koo Ja-wook launched a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 8-2.
Daniel was pulled after giving up a single to Lewin Diaz, and then the new pitcher Logan Allen, a starter pitching in relief in the series, served up another single, this time to pinch hitter Kim Seong-yoon.
Kim Young-woong's infield single then loaded the bases with nobody out for Ryu Ji-hyuk, who hit an infield grounder to bring in another run to make it an 8-3 game.
KT Wiz closer Park Yeong-hyun (R) celebrates after recording the final out of his team's 8-7 win over the Samsung Lions in Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
KT Wiz closer Park Yeong-hyun (R) celebrates after recording the final out of his team's 8-7 win over the Samsung Lions in Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Son Dong-hyun, a more traditional reliever, came on to put out the fire, but he nearly served up a three-run homer to Lee Jae-hyeon, who pulled a forkball just wide of the foul pole in left.
The Wiz made an unusual pitching change in mid at-bat, as Kim Jeong-woon took over. But Lee greeted him with a single that cashed in two runners, putting the Lions within 8-5.
The Lions pulled within one in the top eighth, with Kim Seong-yoon hitting a single off reliever Oh Won-seok and Koo, playing through lingering effects of a recent hamstring injury, limping home from third on a wild pitch by Park Yeong-hyun to make it an 8-7 contest.
The Wiz failed to pull away after loading the bases with two outs in the bottom eighth, setting up a nailbiting top ninth. But Park finished off the Lions by striking out all three batters he faced that inning for his fifth career postseason save.
Han Seung-taek of the KT Wiz hits a solo home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
Han Seung-taek of the KT Wiz hits a solo home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)