Right-handers squaring off again with KBO championship series berth at stake

The two right-handed pitchers that went toe-to-toe earlier in the ongoing South Korean baseball postseason will meet again Sunday with much more at stake — a ticket to the championship series.

The Samsung Lions will host the Kia Tigers for the deciding Game 5 of their best-of-five second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The winner of this game will advance to the Korean Series, which begins Tuesday with the regular-season champions KT Wiz waiting.

The Lions will have their Panamanian ace Ariel Jurado on the hill Sunday, while the Tigers will counter with their American starter Adam Oller.

These two pitchers also started Game 2 back on Tuesday in Daegu, where the Lions prevailed 8-3. Jurado collected his first career postseason win by holding the Tigers to two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Jurado had faced the Tigers only once in the regular season. On May 15, Jurado gave up three runs on 10 hits in seven innings and struck out a season-high seven batters, but the Tigers won 5-4.

Oller was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits, including a home run by Lewin Diaz, in 4 2/3 innings.

Oller has struggled in Daegu this year, with 13 earned runs allowed in 5 2/3 innings in one regular-season start and one postseason start combined.

The Lions will stack the middle of their lineup with left-handed bats like Koo Ja-wook, Diaz and Choi Hyoung-woo. Right-handed Lee Jae-hyeon had a home run and three RBIs against Oller in the regular season.