Kia Tigers win 2024 Korean Series title Yoo Jee-ho, 유지호 Yoo Jee-ho

The Kia Tigers are the king of South Korean baseball in 2024.

The Tigers beat the Samsung Lions 7-5 in Game 5 of the Korean Series at home Monday for their 12th title, and their first since 2017, after overcoming a 5-1 deficit.

Kim Tae-gun drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the bottom sixth, while the Tigers’ bullpen combined for 6 1/3 shutout innings in front of a sellout crowd of 19,300 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Tigers have won more titles than any team in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history, and they are a perfect 12-for-12 in their Korean Series appearances.

This is only the second time in club history that the Tigers got to celebrate their championship at home, having done so once previously in 1987.

The Tigers won the first two games of this best-of-seven series at home last week, before getting a split on the road in Daegu on Friday and Saturday. Then they clinched the title Monday thanks to their relentless offense and shutdown bullpen.

The Tigers are now the first team to win a Korean Series title in five different decades: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and now 2020s.

Tigers second baseman Kim Sun-bin, who batted 10-for-17 in five games, was voted the Korean Series MVP. He beat Kim Tae-gun 46-45 in the media voting,

Pushed to the brink of elimination, the Lions jumped on Tigers starter Yang Hyeon-jong for two homers in the top first.

With two outs and a runner at first, Lewin Diaz clobbered a 2-2 slider from Yang for a two-run homer.

Three pitches later, Kim Young-woong also saw a slider that he liked and drove it into the right-center field seats for a solo shot.

It was the 10th pair of back-to-back of home runs in Korean Series history.

The Tigers responded with a run in the bottom first against starter Lee Seung-hyun, courtesy of Na Sung-bum’s sacrifice fly, though designated hitter Choi Hyoung-woo flied out to strand runners at first and second.

The Tigers wasted another chance to close the gap in the bottom second, with second baseman Ryu Ji-hyuk turning in a defensive gem.

After a walk and a double put runners at second and third, Kim Sun-bin hit a blooper into shallow right field, and Ryu sprinted out to make a fully-stretched grab to save two runs.

And the Lions pulled ahead by two runs in the top third with Diaz’s one swing of the bat.

With a man at first, Diaz obliterated a middle-middle fastball from Yang for a two-run shot that put the Lions up 5-1 and knocked Yang out of the game.

With that homer, Diaz became the first player to homer in consecutive at-bats in two different games within a single postseason. He also went back-to-back in the second round against the LG Twins on Oct. 15.

With the championship trophy in the stadium, the Tigers weren’t going down without a fight.

Their first two batters of the third inning singled off Lee Seung-hyun, and two batters later, Choi Hyoung-woo knocked in a run with a single to right field.

Once again, though, the Tigers couldn’t keep the line moving, with Lee Woo-sung striking out and Kim Tae-gun grounding out back to the pitcher.

The Tigers kept creating traffic on the bases against Lee Seung-hyun. With two outs in the fourth, they got a single and two straight walks against the left-hander to load the bases and chased him from the game.

But facing reliever Kim Tae-hoon, Socrates Brito only managed a harmless chopper to second that killed that rally.

The Tigers finally pulled even in the bottom fifth in an unconventional fashion.

First, Choi Hyoung-woo led off the inning with a solo homer off Kim Tae-hoon. At 40 years, 10 months and 12 days old, Choi became the oldest player to homer in a KBO postseason game, breaking the previous record held by the ex-SSG Landers player Kim Kang-min by nearly nine months.

The Tigers then loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth inning, with Kim Tae-hoon walking two and new pitcher Kim Yun-su walking another.

With the count full on Kim Do-yeong, Kim Yun-su bounced a slider in the dirt, and the ball hopped into the backstop, allowing two runners to score and tie the game at 5-5.

The Lions were also hurt by wild pitches in their 5-1 loss in Game 1 last Wednesday, when reliever Lim Chang-min threw two wild pitches to let in the tying run and the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.

The Tigers completed their comeback in the bottom sixth thanks to Kim Tae-gun’s infield single against Lim.

With runners at the corners, Kim Tae-gun hit a grounder to the hole on the left. Shortstop Lee Jae-hyeon made the tough catch, but he couldn’t get the force out at second, as Brito came home to put the Tigers up 6-5.

The Tigers failed to add to their lead after loading the bases with two outs in the bottom seventh. With two men aboard, the Lions intentionally walked Choi Hyoung-woo to load the bases and set up a force play at every base. Reliever Kim Jae-yoon then retired pinch hitter Choi Won-jun on a grounder to first base.

In the top eighth, it was the Lions’ turn to fritter away a bases-loaded opportunity, after two walks and a hit-by-pitch put three aboard for Lee Jae-hyeon.

The Tigers summoned closer Jung Hai-young, their fourth pitcher of the inning, and he retired Lee on a routine pop fly to shortstop Park Chan-ho.

The Tigers finally got some breathing room in the bottom eighth with Park’s RBI double, and Jung retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the title.

After Yang got the hook with two outs in the third, the Tigers’ bullpen held the Lions to just one hit over the final 6 1/3 innings.

Aside from the three home runs by Diaz and Kim Young-woong, the Lions only managed two other hits.