Lions slugger Diaz vows revenge vs. ex-MLB teammate in KBO postseason

Samsung Lions first baseman Lewin Diaz leads all players in the second round of the Korea Baseball Organization postseason with three home runs in three games, but he couldn't hit one out Thursday against his former major league teammate now pitching for his playoff opponent, the LG Twins.

LG Twins reliever Elieser Hernandez threw 3 2/3 shutout innings to earn a save in the Twins' 1-0 win in Game 3 of this best-of-five series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Thursday. He retired Diaz in both at-bats, getting him to fly out to left in the sixth and ground into a fielder's choice in the eighth.

Hernandez has yet to give up a run in 11 innings in six outings so far this postseason.

Diaz said Friday, moments after Game 4 at Jamsil was rained out, that he already knew how good Hernandez is because they were teammates on the Miami Marlins from 2020 to 2022.

"That's good for him," Diaz said of his friend's success. "I know he's on another team, but I am glad he's doing well right now."

But Diaz also said he will be ready next time he faces Hernandez.

"Outside the park, we're friends. Inside the park, we're enemies," Diaz said with a smile. "Next time I'm going to see him, maybe I'll just try to hit a home run."

Diaz nearly had a couple of home runs in Thursday's game, but his towering fly balls in the second and again in the fourth inning both hooked foul. The second ball was close enough that the Lions challenged the foul call, but replays confirmed the original decision.

"The first one, I knew it was going to be foul right away. But the second one, I thought it was going to be maybe a home run," Diaz said, adding that his teammates reminded him that if the game had been at their hitter-friendly home stadium, Daegu Samsung Lions Park, the second one would have hit the foul pole for the homer.

Diaz said despite his prodigious power, he doesn't consciously try to hit home runs.

"In postseason games, I just try to be on base every time. I don't think about hitting homers and being a hero," he said. "I try to get on base for my teammates."

Friday marked the second rain-induced postponement of this series. It could throw players off their rhythm, but Diaz said the disruption in schedule doesn't change his preparation.

"I just went to the cage today and tried to be ready for tomorrow," he said. "Sometimes, you need to breathe a little bit. Even though we just lost, we will try to win with the same mentality tomorrow. We'll try to forget about the last game and finish the series tomorrow." (Yonhap)