Ace throws 7 innings of 1-run ball in decisive Game 5

Consecutive strikeouts in 6th inning extinguish KIA rally

Korean Series Game 1 against kt set for Tuesday

Samsung Lions starter Ariel Furado pitches in the top of the sixth inning during Game 5 of the 2026 KBO postseason playoff series against the KIA Tigers at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Samsung Lions starter Ariel Furado pitches in the top of the sixth inning during Game 5 of the 2026 KBO postseason playoff series against the KIA Tigers at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Ariel Furado, returning from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him for months, led the Samsung Lions to the Korean Series on Sunday with another dominant playoff outing — and walked away with the series MVP award.

Samsung defeated the KIA Tigers 6-1 in Game 5 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO postseason playoff series at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, clinching the best-of-five series three games to two. Samsung will now face regular-season champion kt wiz in the Korean Series, a best-of-seven.

Furado set the tone from the mound, holding KIA to five hits, two walks and one unearned run over seven innings while striking out three. The performance followed a six-and-two-thirds-inning, two-run effort in Game 2 last month. In a media vote of 79 ballots, Furado received 47 to claim playoff MVP honors. Choi Hyung-woo received 20 votes and Ryu Ji-hyeok five.

Samsung's lineup gave Furado early support. Choi Hyung-woo drove in the first run with an RBI single in the first inning, and the Lions blew the game open in the second — a Kim Ji-chan two-run single and a Park Seung-gyu RBI hit, set up by Kang Min-ho's single and Lee Jae-hyeon's double, pushed the lead to 4-0.

Samsung Lions pitcher Ariel Furado poses after being named playoff MVP following Game 5 of the 2026 KBO postseason playoff series against the KIA Tigers at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Samsung Lions pitcher Ariel Furado poses after being named playoff MVP following Game 5 of the 2026 KBO postseason playoff series against the KIA Tigers at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. [Yonhap]

KIA cut the deficit to 4-1 on a Park Jae-hyeon RBI triple to right-center in the third, but could not solve Furado. The pivotal moment came in the top of the sixth with Samsung still leading 4-1. Kim Do-young reached on an error and Na Sung-bum singled, putting runners on first and second with one out. Furado struck out Kim Seon-bin looking and fanned Han Jun-su swinging on consecutive pitches to strand both runners.

That sequence proved decisive. With KIA threatening to swing the momentum, Furado snuffed out the rally with back-to-back strikeouts. Samsung then extended the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Kim Ji-chan triple and a Park Seung-gyu RBI single, pushing the margin to 6-1 and effectively sealing the win.

Furado had left the rotation in July with shoulder pain, but Samsung waited for the ace to return. Having logged a combined 218⅓ innings across the regular season and postseason last year, Furado repaid the club's faith by stepping back into the starting role at the most critical stage of this year's playoff run.

KIA starter Adam Oller took the loss after allowing six hits and four runs in two innings. The Tigers managed only five hits as a team, with Kim Do-young going hitless in four at-bats. Samsung played before a sellout crowd of 23,550. The Korean Series opens Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at KT Wiz Park in Suwon.


attom@heraldcorp.com