The first few runners matter more than the season averages in this playoff game. Both starters have a route into the middle innings, and both attacks can turn one loose inning into a lead. The first move to the bullpen should shape the final stretch.
KIA get Kim Do-young and Park Jae-hyun on ahead of Castro and Na Sung-bum, a chain that produced runs in the opener. Samsung changed its order for Game 2: Park Seung-gyu moved up, Koo Ja-wook hit as DH, and Choi Hyoung-woo returned in left. That put more runners in front of Koo, Diaz and Choi, who built a four-run inning together.
Shirakawa held Samsung to a low average in their regular-season meetings but also walked 11 hitters in 14⅔ innings. Choi Won-tae has had a long break between starts, making KIA's early base runners and the first relief handoff important. Koo and Choi actually played the latest game, while Won Tae-in is a late Samsung option after his clean Game 2 ninth.
I expect both lineups to press their starters early and the game to turn on which side converts its first traffic before the relief groups settle. Samsung's restored middle order has the more convincing runner-to-run route against Shirakawa's past walk pattern. That's why I'm siding with the Samsung Lions to win.
