Kia Tigers claim 2024 KBO Korean Series title after come-from-behind victory in Game 5 against Samsung Lions

The Kia Tigers clawed their way back in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions to win their first KBO championship since 2017. The match ended 7-5 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju City, south of the capital Seoul.

The Tigers bested the Lions 4-1 in the best-of-seven series as the latter failed to finish-off the home squad even after building an early lead. It was Kia's 12th KBO title out of the same number of tries.

Former Miami Marlin and now-Samsung Lion Lewin Diaz hit the first of his two home runs of the night in the top of the first inning. The two-run home run by Diaz was then followed by a solo shot from Kim Young-woong to push the scoreline to 3-0.

Kia would pull back a run in the bottom of the first through Na Sung-bum's sac fly, but Diaz once again delivered for Samsung with another two-run blast. This made him the first player in KBO history to hit a home run in consecutive at-bats in two separate games.

With the score at 5-2, the Kia Tigers' comeback was initiated by Choi Hyung-woo with a solo blast in the bottom of the fifth inning. This made him the oldest player to hit a home run in the Korean Series.

Just a few moments later and with the bases loaded, a mishandled pitch by Lions catcher Lee Byeong-heon saw two Kia Tigers runners score home. This paved the way for Game 4 grand slam hero Kim Tae-gun to bring home the go-ahead run through an infield single in the bottom of the sixth.

Park Chan-ho added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as the Kia Tigers led 7-5 and ended the game with the same scoreline. After the early lead surrendered by starter Yang Hyeon-jeong, the Tigers' bullpen was lights out as the six relievers combined for 6-1/3 innings of one-hit ball.

South Jeolla native (the province in which Gwangju is situated in) Kim Sun-bin took the honors as the Korean Series MVP.

Kia Tigers remain spotless in Korean Series

The Kia Tigers' KBO Korean Series record remains intact at 100%. The team has won 12 titles in 12 attempts. They are the only team in the history of the league to win a championship in all the decades since its inception. It was the Kia team's first title in seven years.

Led by rookie skipper Lee Bum-ho, the title victory was the first that the team won in their home stadium in Gwangju since the team was acquired by automobile company Kia in 2001.

The Tigers now hold a bigger gap against the Lions with four more KBO championship titles. The Samsung Lions, which has the second-most KBO titles with eight, now tallies its 11th runners-up finish — most in KBO history.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat