KBO Picks & Odds (October 22): KT Wiz and Doosan Soar Over Total

•  Just a half game separates third place KT Wiz from fifth place Doosan
•  The Bears Hui Kwan Yu is 1-3 with a 7.27 ERA vs the Suwon this season
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on October 22nd in the article below

With only eight days of action left on the KBO regular season calendar the race for second place has never been tighter. Just 1.5 games separates second from fifth place, while third place KT Wiz has just a half game cushion over fifth place Doosan.

Watching the LG Twins, Kiwoom Heroes, Doosan Bears and KT Wiz fight for their placement in the playoffs while the NC Dinos automatically advance to the finals pic.twitter.com/vxxNarQsuB

— Webster (@MarcoScutaroFan) October 21, 2020

Those two teams will square off on Thursday, at 5:30 am EST, in a game that isn’t expected to produce a lot of scoring.

 KBO Odds: Thursday, October 22nd

Odds as of  Oct. 21st at FanDuel.

The total for the Suwon versus Bears matchup opened up at 9.5, which seems unusually low. These two clubs feature two of the more potent offenses in the league, and neither is giving the ball to a starter the other should fear.

KT Wiz and Doosan Go Over

The last time we saw Doosan, they were laying the smackdown on Lotte. The Bears racked up six runs and 11 hits in a blowout victory, a day after destroying Kiwoom. Now they’ve had two full days off to prepare for KT Wiz, which is a bad sign for Suwon starter William Cuevas.

#DoosanBears is beginning to play like defending champs. Chris Flexen led the way tonight w/ another dominant outing. 7 shutout innings w/ 12 K’s. This is a team you don’t want to face in Postseason. W/ Flexen and Alcantara, Bears now have best top of starting rotation in #KBO.

— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) October 20, 2020

Cuevas, at times has looked like an elite pitcher this year, but lately he’s been a disaster. He’s allowed 16 runs over his last three outings, a stretch that includes a game versus Doosan. On that day, the Bears lit him up for six runs and six hits over 3.1 innings, en route to a 13-8 victory.

The defending champs will counter with Hui Kwan Yu, who’s been inconsistent at best this season. He’s allowed at least four runs in 13 of his 25 starts, and has been hammered by KT Wiz multiple times this season.

Hui Kwan Yu vs KT Wiz This Season

Yu is 1-3, with a 7.27 ERA versus the Suwon, failing to make it past the 4th inning in two of those starts. The last time he faced them he lasted just 1.2 innings, and he’s just one start removed from failing to make it out of the 4th inning against bottom-feeder Hanwha.

Pick: Over 9.5 (+108)

Lotte and SK Stay Low

Elsewhere in the KBO on Thursday, Lotte faces SK in a battle of two of the league’s bottom-five offenses. Despite the lack of scoring prowess, online sportsbooks still opened this contest with a total of 10.5. That line seems too high, especially give the quality of starting pitching expected to be on display.

Who is this team?!? Where has Soo-min Jung been all season?!? Winners of 5 out of their last 6! How many games left in the season, the #SKWyverns making that playoff push!

— Coach Dustin DeWindt (@sodapopinsk1) October 16, 2020

The Wyverns will give the ball to former first round pick Soo Min Jung, who’s been brilliant in his lone two starts in 2020. He held KIA to one run and three hits in his debut, and last time out he blanked KT Wiz over 6 innings.

Lotte meanwhile, will trot out Seung Heon Lee, who’s been on a nice run of his own lately. He’s surrendered just three runs total in his last three outings, a stretch that included a matchup with first place NC. The 21-year-old was supposed to be a key component of the Giants rotation this season, but a serious injury in his season debut back in May put things on hold.

Since returning in September, he’s 3-1 and has pitched shutouts in two of his five starts.

Pick: Under 10.5 (-120)