INCHEON -- The Samsung Lions smacked two home runs en route to a 5-2 win over the SSG Landers to begin their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series on Thursday.
Backed by early run support, Lions starter Choi Won-tae enjoyed the finest outing of his postseason career, striking out eight over six shutout innings while giving up just two singles at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul.
Game 2 of this best-of-five first-round series is 6:30 p.m. Friday in Incheon.
With a sellout crowd of 22,500 on hand, the Lions didn't mess around right from the get-go, as leadoff man Lee Jae-hyeon jumped on a first-pitch fastball from starter Mitch White for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead.
Lee became the first player to homer on the first pitch of a postseason game in KBO history, and the fifth player overall to open a postseason contest with a home run.
"I knew I was going up against a tough pitcher, and I tried to focus on a fastball because I felt he would most likely throw that pitch to start the game," Lee said. "I never imagined I would have a record like this. But I don't put much stock into it. It's more important that the home run put us on the board first."
The Landers' defense came through for White in the top second. With runners at first and second, center fielder Choi Ji-hoon made a spectacular diving catch on a sinking liner by Lee Jae-hyeon.
But there was nothing their defense could do when Kim Young-woong belted a two-run homer off White in the top of the third inning.
White got Kim to fan on a first-pitch curveball with an awkward swing. White threw the same pitch again, but Kim made no mistake this time, as he sent the ball over the right field fence for his fifth homer in his 12th career postseason game.
Kim Tae-hoon's follow-up single knocked White out of the game.
The Landers' bullpen didn't fare any better. In the top fourth, Lewin Diaz, the regular-season RBI king with a league-record 158, made it 4-0 with a run-scoring double off reliever Park Si-hoo.
Kim Ji-chan, who'd entered the game as pinch runner in the third inning, drove in Diaz with a single that put the Lions up 5-0.
The rest of the game belonged to Choi Won-tae, who set postseason career highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts. With his fastball-changeup working to near perfection, Choi let only four balls reach the outfield.
With Choi out of the game, the Landers' offense woke up in the seventh inning. Ko Myeong-jun, playing in his first postseason game, smoked his first career postseason homer that inning, a two-run shot off reliever Kim Tae-hoon to make it a 5-2 game.
The Landers put more pressure on the Lions' bullpen in the eighth. Reliever Lee Ho-sung struck out the first two batters of that inning before giving up two singles and a walk to load the bases.
Ko stepped in for a chance to be the hero but hit a fielder's choice groundout to third after a six-pitch battle.
Closer Kim Jae-yoon came on to retire the final three batters in the ninth inning for his eighth career postseason save.
Lions manager Park Jin-man said Choi Won-tae "threw the best game of this year."
"I didn't expect such a good outing from him today," the manager said with a smile. "This outing will wash away some bad memories from earlier in the year. He had lost confidence late in the regular season, and I think this game should give him some of that confidence back. I can't wait to see him in his next start."
Park also said Lee Jae-hyeon's first-inning home run was just the kind of shot in the arm his team needed, after the Lions managed just one hit in their 3-0 win over the NC Dinos in a wild card game Tuesday.
"That home run gave us huge momentum from the start, especially against a tough pitcher," Park noted. "It looks like our whole lineup is on the upswing, and the guys should be able to breathe a little bit and play more freely going forward."
In contrast, the Landers' players might have been too jittery in Game 1, with several of them making their postseason debuts, manager Lee Sung-yong said.
"I think Mitch White and Cho Hyeong-woo (his catcher) in particular didn't play the way they're capable of playing," Lee said. "And we looked a little rusty early on, but we got sharper as the game went on. I think we will be better as the series progresses."
The Lions will try to take a 2-0 stranglehold on the series with Gerson Garabito on the mound Friday. Garabito, a midseason arrival this year, went 4-4 in 15 starts with a 2.64 ERA. In his only meeting against the Landers on July 23, the right-hander tossed seven shutout innings and struck out six.
The Landers will counter with right-hander Kim Keon-woo, who went 5-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 35 appearances, including 13 starts, in the regular season. The left-hander began the year in the bullpen and then joined the starting rotation in late May.
He had a 1-2 record with a 6.75 ERA in six regular-season games against the Lions. He served up 11 hits and eight walks in 9 1/3 innings.
