(LEAD) Lions beat Tigers to even up KBO postseason series

(ATTN: ADDS details from para 8, photos)
By Yoo Jee-ho

DAEGU, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- The Samsung Lions launched two home runs to beat up on the Kia Tigers 8-3 to even up their South Korean baseball postseason series Tuesday.

Cleanup Lewin Diaz smoked a two-run home run, and the 42-year-old veteran Choi Hyoung-woo blasted a solo shot as the Lions took the second game of this best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu.

Starter Ariel Jurado pitched 6 2/3 strong innings for his first career postseason victory.

At 42 years, 10 months and 11 days old, Choi became the oldest player to play and get a hit, a home run and an RBI in a KBO postseason game.

The Lions pounded out nine hits before a sellout crowd of 23,550, after managing only two hits in a 5-1 loss in Monday's series opener.

The series now shifts to the Tigers' home city of Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Friday, respectively. They will both begin at 6:30 p.m.

The winner of this battle will advance to the Korean Series starting next week. The KT Wiz, who had the best record in the regular season, are waiting.

The Tigers scored first for the second straight game. With runners at the corners in the top of the third inning, Lee Ho-yeon, making his first start of this postseason, hit a sacrifice fly to center to cash in the game's first run.

The Lions punched right back in the bottom of the third, scoring four times with two outs against starter Adam Oller.

With a runner at second, Park Seung-kyu drove in the tying run with a double down the left field line. Koo Ja-wook then followed with an RBI single to center that put the Lions ahead 2-1.

Cleanup Lewin Diaz then landed a big blow with a two-run home run for a 4-1 Lions lead.

The Tigers went to the bullpen with two outs in the fifth after Oller allowed an infield single and the Lions had four straight left-handed batters due up.

Left-handed reliever Lee Eui-lee came on but only created more of a mess as he walked Koo and hit Diaz in the upper back to load the bases.

Lee, struggling to find the zone, walked Choi Hyoung-woo to push in a run, making it a 5-1 contest.

This was in stark contrast to Lee's Game 1 performance Monday, when he struck out three of the five batters he faced to earn a relief win.

The Lions pulled ahead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, with Kim Ji-chan doubling home a run and Park Seung-kyu collecting his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly.

Jurado thrived with the lead, retiring 10 consecutive batters in one stretch.

He lost his zone a bit in the seventh inning as his wild pitch with two outs in the frame let in the Tigers' second run of the game.

But the Lions got a run right back in the bottom of the seventh, with Choi hammering a solo home run for an 8-2 lead.

The Tigers got an inconsequential run on a Harold Castro groundout in the eighth.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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