The Samsung Lions defeated the Doosan Bears 3-2 in Game 3 of the Korean Series on Sunday, cutting their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven affair.
Visiting Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, the Lions scored all three runs without a base hit, and the two-time defending Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) champs relied on strong relief pitching to hold on for the narrow victory.
The Lions had dropped the first two games of the series at home, Daegu Stadium. The 2007 SK Wyverns remain the only club to erase a 2-0 deficit to capture the Korean Series.
The fourth game will be back at Jamsil Stadium at 6 p.m. Monday. The Lions are chasing their third straight championship, and the Bears are attempting to become the first No. 4 seed to win the Korean Series.
The Lions scored the first run in the top fourth on an error.
With the bases loaded, Park Han-yi hit a grounder at shortstop Son Si-heon. The usually sure-handed veteran bobbled the ball, and missed the force at second with a rushed throw, as Park Seok-min scored from third.
Lee Ji-young, the next batter, hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it a 2-0 game.
Doosan's starter Yu Hui-kwan was taken out of the game with two outs in the fourth under bizarre circumstances.
After Yu gave up a double to start the inning, pitching coach Chung Myung-won visited the mound for a chat. Later in the same inning, when manager Kim Jin-wook came out of the dugout to argue the safe call on the sac fly, battery coach Kang Sung-woo crossed the foul line and into the fair territory as he spoke to the catcher Choi Jae-hoon.
Doosan was deemed to have made the maximum two visits to the mound in one inning. While the umpires -- busy arguing with the Doosan manager, were at first unaware of the development -- one of the official scorers notified the crew of the situation. The umpires huddled for a few minutes before forcing the Bears to make the pitching change.
Yu left the game having given up one earned run in 3 2/3 innings on five hits, suffering his first loss of this postseason.
Jang Won-sam earned his third career Korean Series victory after giving up two earned runs on four hits in 6 1/3 effective innings. He struck out three and walked one, and improved to 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in five Korean Series appearances.
The Lions added their third run in the seventh inning without a base hit. Park Han-yi reached on an error by second baseman Oh Jae-won, and Lee Ji-young sacrificed him over to second. Park stole third and then scored on a wild pitch by Doosan reliever Hong Sang-sam.
The Bears made it a one-run game in the seventh. Designated hitter Hong Sung-heun hit a solo home run off Jang, who had held the Bears to just two hits up to that point. Oh Jae-won followed with a double, chasing Jang from the game, and later scored on a single by Son Si-heon.
Oh had to leave the game, however, after pulling his left hamstring halfway down the third baseline.
The Bears failed to get any closer. Son was stranded after Oh Jae-il and Kim Jae-ho both popped out against reliever Ahn Ji-man.
Cha Woo-chan, Samsung's third pitcher of the game, retired the side in order in the eighth, and handed the reins over to closer Oh Seung-hwan in the ninth.
Oh struck out two batters in the three-up, three-down ninth, earning his ninth career Korean Series save. The right-hander pitched on one day's rest after throwing his season-high 53 pitches and giving up a 13th-inning home run in Friday's 5-1 loss.
The free-agent-to-be has reportedly drawn interest from the New York Yankees.
The Lions said right-hander Bae Young-soo will start Game 4 on Monday. The Bears said they will counter with right-hander Lee Jae-woo.
Bae, who tied for the KBO lead with 14 wins during the regular season, will be making his 21st Korean Series appearance, more than any pitcher on either club. Pitching in his eighth Korean Series, he has a career 4-5 record with one save and a 2.71 ERA.
Against the Bears during the regular season, Bae was 1-2 in four appearances with a 7.78 ERA in 19 2/3 innings.
In the season opener at home on March 30, Bae served up two grand slams against the Bears. Kim Hyun-soo, the No. 3 hitter for Doosan, went 7-for-11 with three home runs and nine RBIs against Bae.
Lee Jae-woo, 5-2 with a 4.72 ERA during the regular season, will be pitching in his seventh Korean Series game. He doesn't have a win-loss record, but has one save with a 4.66 ERA in the championship final.
Lee threw five scoreless innings in three regular season appearances against the Lions but didn't have a win-loss record.
Bae Young-seop was the only Lion to get a hit off Lee. (Yonhap)
