Seoul: It had been so long since Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon had last won a game in the Korean Series that, when he finally ended his personal drought Wednesday night, he couldn't recall when his previous win had come. "I haven't won all that many games in the Korean Series, and I am really thankful for my players," Kim said with a smile, minutes after the Eagles rallied past the LG Twins 7-3 in Game 3 of this year's Korea Baseball Organization championship series. "I don't remember when my last win came."

According to Yonhap News Agency, it was Oct. 26, 2008, the first game of that year's series against the SK Wyverns when Kim was still managing the Doosan Bears. The Bears lost the next four games. Then in the 2016 Korean Series, Kim's NC Dinos got swept by the Bears. That was Kim's most recent trip to the Korean Series until this year. And then the Eagles dropped the first two games against the Twins, pushing Kim's losing skid to 10. It looked to be in danger of reaching 11 on Wednesday, as the Eagles entered the bottom eighth down 3-1, six outs away from going down three games to none. No team has rallied from that 3-0 hole to win the Korean Series title on 12 previous occasions.

But the Eagles put up a six-spot to grab a 7-3 lead, capitalizing on some shaky relief pitching and lucky bounces, with bloopers falling for key hits left and right. Sim Woo-jun, who'd entered the game as a pinch runner in the seventh, delivered the two-run double that gave the Eagles a 5-3 lead, and Choi Jae-hoon landed the big punch with a two-run single for a 7-3 lead. Closer Kim Seo-hyeon, whose wild pitch let in a run in the top eighth, got the final three outs in the ninth to earn his first postseason win.

"I am glad we delivered this win for our fans in our first home game of the series," manager Kim said. "Things didn't go our way until the seventh inning. But then in the eighth inning, we started getting some fortuitous hits. Luck was on our side." The manager added that Sim and Kim Seo-hyeon, a couple of struggling players before Wednesday, would be able to build on the big come-from-behind win. "Even a small injection of confidence can make a huge difference for players," he said. "With the first win out of the way, I hope our players will shake off pressure and feel more comfortable on the field going forward."

Twins skipper Youm Kyoung-youb rued the one that got away but said his team was ready to flush this loss and start with a clean slate for Game 4 on Thursday. As for three bloop hits that led to a big Eagles rally in the eighth inning, Youm smiled and said, "That's baseball. There's nothing we can do about it." Starter-turned-reliever Song Seung-ki began the eighth inning but got the hook after giving up a hit to his first two batters. Youm summoned closer You Young-chan earlier than usual, with one out in the eighth. "Seung-ki didn't have his usual stuff, but Young-chan was fresh after two days off and he looked great in the bullpen," Youm said. "It didn't go the way we wanted, but we have to get ready for tomorrow."

Youm also hinted at a lineup change for the first time in this series for Game 4. No. 3 hitter Austin Dean went 0-for-4 with strikeouts and he is now 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in the series.