KBO Picks & Odds (October 9): Pivotal Series for Doosan and KT Wiz

•  5th place Doosan battles 2nd place KT Wiz in the marquee KBO series this weekend
•   Just three games separate the Bears from the Suwon
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on October 9th in the article below

The KBO begins its weekend series on Friday, at 4:00 am EST, and one matchup in particular stands out. The defending champion Doosan Bears visit KT Wiz looking to gain some ground on the second place Suwon. Doosan currently occupies fifth place, but finds itself just three games back of KT Wiz with 16 contests to play.

 KBO Odds: Friday, October 9th

Odds as of  Oct. 8th at FanDuel.

The defending champs opened up as a short road favorite, on the strength of four wins in their past five games. The Suwon meanwhile, took two of three against Lotte this week, scoring an impressive 24 runs over the three-game set.

Marquee Matchup

Impressive totals are nothing new for either one of these teams. Doosan ranks second in runs scored per game, first in total hits and first in batting average. KT Wiz on the other hand, ranks third in runs scored per outing, third in batting average and second in home runs.

Congratulations to Mel Rojas Jr. on hitting his 100th KBO League Home Run!!! pic.twitter.com/2ZeUldxlnm

— Amsterdam Mohawks (@MohawksBaseball) June 25, 2020

Scoring could be a bit harder to come by on Friday, as both teams will trot out quality starters. The Bears will give the ball to Chris Flexen, who’s rocking a 3.80 ERA this season and has allowed two runs or less in six of his past seven starts.

Chris Flexen, Changeup (home plate view) pic.twitter.com/EhbKJBEp8J

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2020

One of those outings was against the Suwon, but it didn’t last long. Flexen stuck around for only 3 innings in a 4-2 Bears defeat, but did ring up six KT Wiz batters in his limited time. He’s been hit hard just twice all season, and oddly enough both times were versus last place Hanwha.

KT Wiz will counter with rookie Hyeong Jun So, who’s been one the league’s best pitchers over the last two-plus months. He’s fresh off 6 innings of one-run ball against LG, and has limited the opposition to two earned runs or less in 11 of his past 12 starts.

So Hyeong-jun, Nasty Changeup getting a Taz🌪️ swing. pic.twitter.com/6blUFoqsKP

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 9, 2020

Give me the better team, at home, getting plus money, with the hotter pitcher on the hill.

Picks: KT Wiz moneyline (+108), Under 10.5 (-112)

NC and LG Go Over

Elsewhere in the KBO, first place NC takes on fourth place LG in a game that should feature plenty of offense, despite what the total suggests.

.@Padres sign this man ⭐️

Na Sung-bum with another Dinos Grand Slam ☄️#NCDinos | #KBO https://t.co/h8QvbkInkY pic.twitter.com/kgsfvEQr8q

— taewoongi (태웅) (@taewoongii) September 30, 2020

The Dinos are an offensive juggernaut that is typically immune to difficult pitching matchups like the one they’ll face on Friday. Casey Kelly will toe the rubber for the Twins, fresh off 7 innings of two-run ball versus KT Wiz. The 31-year-old stuck out 7, earning his fifth win in his last six starts.

Casey Kelly, Filthy Curveball. 😷 [11th K] pic.twitter.com/feMK9Lkowo

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 19, 2020

He’s been one of the league’s better pitchers all season, but it’s not like he isn’t prone blowups. He’s allowed at least five runs in four outings in 2020, including his lone appearance against NC.

The Dinos will counter with Sung Young Choi, who’s been smacked around in three straight starts. Last time out against this very same Twins team, he lasted just 2.1 innings after surrendering five runs, four hits and two homers.

Pick: Over 9.5 (+100)