DAEGU (Yonhap News) -- The Doosan Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 5-1 in extra innings in Game 2 of the Korean Series on Friday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven affair.
Visiting Daegu Stadium, Oh Jae-il launched a go-ahead solo home run off Oh Seung-hwan during the four-run 13th inning, as the Bears inched closer to their first Korea Baseball Organization championship since 2001.
At five hours and 32 minutes, this was the longest postseason game in the KBO's 31-year history. The previous record was the sixth game of the 2006 Korean Series between the Lions and the Hanwha Eagles that lasted 5:15.
The third game will be at Doosan's home, Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The Bears, seeded fourth, will host Games 3 and 4, and, if necessary, Game 5. If the series goes further, the Lions, ranked first in the regular season, will host Games 6 and 7.
The Bears are trying to become the first club to win the Korean Series after finishing fourth in the regular season.
In 30 previous Korean Series, a team that won the first two games went on to win the title on 15 out of 16 occasions. The 2007 Bears are the only club to have blown that lead to lose the Korean Series.
The Lions, who have won the past two Korean Series, have never fallen behind two games to none in their previous 14 appearances in the KBO final.
Oh Jae-il, who entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement at first, played the hero for the Bears. Oh Seung-hwan, one of the KBO's most feared closers, entered the game with one out in the ninth and the score tied at 1-1, and he'd struck out eight of the 12 batters he'd faced before Oh Jae-il stepped up to the plate. The Bears' backup infielder then swung at the first-pitch fastball over the right-center field for his first career postseason home run, chasing the Lions' right-hander.
Later in the 13th, the Bears scored three more runs off new pitcher Sim Chang-min, on an error by first baseman Chae Tae-in and a two-run single by Son Si-heon.
Reliever Chung Jae-hun was credited with the victory after pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Oh Seung-hwan, the Korean Series MVP in 2005 and 2011 with a career playoff ERA of 1.30, suffered his first postseason loss. He threw his season-high 53 pitches but his only blemish of the night proved to be the fatal one for the Lions.
The 31-year-old is eligible for free agency this offseason and has reportedly drawn interest from the New York Yankees.
The Lions blew bases-loaded chances both in the bottom 10th and 11th.
In the bottom 10th, they loaded the bases after three walks, but Lee Seung-yeop, the 2012 Korean Series MVP famous for clutch hits, only managed a grounder to second as the lead runner got thrown out at home. Then pinch hitter Woo Dong-gyun popped out to short to end the inning.
With bases full and two outs in the next frame, light-hitting utility infielder Kang Myung-goo, hitting in the cleanup spot after entering the game as a pinch runner in the 10th, weakly grounded to second.
Oh Seung-hwan bulldozed through the Bears' lineup through his first four innings, and the game seemed destined for a 15-inning tie before Oh Jae-il hit one out of the park.
The teams traded zeroes through the first seven innings, before Doosan's Kim Jae-ho delivered a two-out RBI single in the top eighth for a 1-0 lead.
The Lions quickly tied the score in the bottom eighth, as Chae Tae-in hit a single to right off shaky Doosan reliever Hong Sang-sam.
The Lions still had runners on second and third with two outs later in the same inning, but failed to move ahead as Kim Tae-wan grounded out to third.
The Bears had a go-ahead run on second with two outs in the ninth, but Oh Seung-hwan struck out Leem Jae-cheol
Both starters, Rick Van den Hurk for the Lions and Dustin Nippert for the Bears, kept their opponents off the board.
Van den Hurk gave up four hits and three walks while striking out seven in 5 2/3 shutout innings. In the top third, with runners at the corners with one out, Choi Jun-seok hit a hard comebacker right at van den Hurk, but the pitcher snared the liner and threw to first to double off the runner at first.
Nippert tossed six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks and striking out four. He gave up a pair of two-out singles in the bottom first, but then retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.
The Bears used seven pitchers in the game, and the Lions sent out six pitchers, who struck out 18 Doosan hitters to set a playoff record in the losing cause.
