Lions infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk savors 1st postseason homer vs. ex-team: 'It was incredible'

Samsung Lions infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk will never be mistaken for a power hitter. In 1,221 regular-season games over 15 years in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Ryu has hit just 23 home runs. And in 38 postseason games before Thursday night, Ryu had zero homers. Ryu's breakthrough dinger came at an opportune time for his club. His two-run home run off Kia Tigers starter Keisho Shirakawa gave the Lions a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth in Game 3 of the second round in the KBO postseason. Although the Lions gave up the tying run in the bottom sixth, they pulled ahead with two runs in the seventh for a 6-4 victory. "I don't usually hit home runs. So even when I do connect for one, I always run hard out of the box because, honestly, I don't really know how it is supposed to feel to hit the ball out," Ryu said. "But today, for some reason, I knew I had hit one as soon as I made contact. So I didn't have to run fast from the start. I just looked toward my dugout to celebrate early." And Ryu acted like he had done this before,...