Wiz looking to protect home turf as Lions eye revenge

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- In 2021, the KT Wiz and the Samsung Lions finished with the identical record in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season, resulting in an unprecedented tiebreaker game for the top seed and a direct ticket to the Korean Series.

The Wiz won that game 1-0 and went on to claim the Korean Series title, too. The Lions, though, were eliminated in the penultimate round of the postseason.

Won Tae-in started the tiebreaker game for the Lions then, and he swallowed a tough pill after holding the Wiz to just one run in six innings.

Won will have a chance to avenge that loss this week, as the Lions take on the Wiz in the best-of-seven Korean Series beginning Tuesday in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

"I had that bitter experience in the tiebreaker game and I am going into this Korean Series looking to exact revenge," Won said during the Korean Series media day Monday in Suwon. "I will try to pitch my team to the championship."

Won, normally a starter, has been pitching out of the bullpen so far this postseason. But manager Park Jin-man revealed Monday the right-hander may move back into the rotation in the Korean Series, depending on how the Lions fare in the first two games on the road in Suwon.

"If I start a title-clinching game, then I want to throw a complete shutout game and be the last pitcher on the mound," Won said. "And if I am asked to come out of the bullpen, then I want to record the final save. I would love to be the pitcher on the mound the moment we clinch the championship."

Wiz captain Jang Sung-woo tried to pour cold water on that hope.

"The Samsung Lions are a great team but we have proven a lot of people wrong by reaching the Korean Series," the veteran catcher said. "It does not matter who our opponents are. We will try to play our game and win the championship. We had more comeback wins than anybody in the league and we have an incredible vibe in the clubhouse."

Jang and his Lions counterpart, Kang Min-ho, are close friends, with Jang serving as Kang's backup with the Lotte Giants from 2009 to 2014 before joining the Wiz in their inaugural season in 2015.

Jang said he met with Kang briefly earlier in the day at the Lions' team hotel, where Kang jokingly asked Jang to take it easy so he could finally win his first title at age 41.

"Unfortunately, there will be no such thing in this competition," said Jang, who got his Korean Series title in 2021. "I hate to say this but I don't think he will get his ring this time."

Lions captain Koo Ja-wook is also gunning for his first title. His only previous Korean Series appearance came in 2015, when he was a rookie and the Lions lost to the Doosan Bears in five games. He missed the 2024 series against the Kia Tigers due to injury, as he watched his team fall in five games.

"Back in 2015, I had no idea what was going on around me. I was just trying to stay focused on each and every game," Koo said. "As captain 11 years later, I am having so much fun now. I felt intimidated back then but now I am better able to enjoy this experience."

Wiz pitcher So Hyeong-jun had a much better time in his first Korean Series. He played an integral role in the Wiz's 2021 title run, as he tossed six shutout innings in a 6-1 victory over the Bears in Game 2 as a 20-year-old sophomore.

"I was so young then, and I had no pressure whatsoever. I did not care one bit if I pitched poorly, and I think that kind of mindset ended up helping me," So said. "Now, I am feeling a bit more pressure to perform. But I have also become a better pitcher over the years and I think I will be able to pitch really well this time, too."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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