The KBO League, suspended for a week due to extreme heat, resumes. The Samsung Lions will face the KIA Tigers in the 12th game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season on the 11th at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.

Samsung currently holds 2nd place with 59 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties (winning percentage of 0.602), sitting 1.5 games behind the first-place KT Wiz. Although Samsung posted 8 wins and 7 losses (winning percentage of 0.533) in the second half, KT's dominant run of 12 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss (winning percentage of 0.923) cost Samsung the top spot. Samsung fell to their second straight loss with a 1-4 defeat against the Hanwha Eagles in Daegu on the 4th, and all games were subsequently canceled from the 5th to the 9th due to the heat wave, making this their first game action in a week.

Samsung's starting pitcher for the day is Chris Paddack. A former Major League Baseball (MLB) player who joined mid-season on a contract worth $473,333 (approximately 710 million won), Paddack became the winning pitcher in his debut game against the Lotte Giants in Daegu on the 18th of last month, throwing 6 innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, and no runs allowed. He added another win on the 24th against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil with 6 innings, 6 hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs allowed. With this, he became the 15th foreign pitcher in Samsung franchise history to record a win as a starter in his KBO debut game, and the first to set that record at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

However, in his third appearance against KIA in Daegu on the 30th of last month, he became the losing pitcher, giving up 6 runs on 6 hits (2 home runs), 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts over 5 innings. He surrendered 5 runs in the second inning alone, allowing consecutive RBI hits to Kim Sun-bin and Ha Joo-suk, followed by a 3-run home run to Kim Tae-goon. In the third inning, he gave up a solo home run to Kim Do-young. After that, he held the mound through the fifth inning without allowing any additional runs.

Manager Park Jin-man said after the game that Paddack self-analyzed by saying, "I think I threw with too similar a pattern through the first three games," and added that he plans to change his pattern in his next appearance. In an interview on the 6th, Paddack expressed his determination, saying, "I gave up a lot of runs against KIA in the last matchup, but now I have a chance to get revenge. I will prepare well." He reflected that a changeup that ran high on a full count to Kim Do-young turned into a home run, and that mistakes like Kim Tae-goon's 3-run homer led to runs, adding that he wants to adjust his pattern based on this experience and produce good results. He will face the KIA lineup again after a 12-day gap.

Samsung's starting lineup consists of Kim Ji-chan (center field), Kim Seong-yoon (right field), Koo Ja-wook (left field), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Lewin Diaz (first base), Lee Jae-hyun (shortstop), Kim Young-woong (third base), Ryu Ji-hyuk (second base), and Kim Do-hwan (catcher). The opposing KIA's starting pitcher is Adam Oller.

Meanwhile, Samsung made changes to its first-team roster. Pitcher Lee Jae-ik was removed from the roster the previous day, and new Asian quota pitcher Satoshi Miyamori (registered name Satoshi) was called up.