KBO Picks & Odds (August 29): Singing Straily’s Praises

• Lotte’s Dan Straily pitched 6 shutout innings in a victory over Samsung last time out
• NC’s Drew Rucinski is looking to become the league’s first 13-game winner
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on August 29th in the article below

Rise and shine for some Saturday morning KBO sweats. The action gets underway at 5:00 am EST, and features a handful of the best starting pitchers in the league. Lotte starter Dan Straily is one those aces pitching on Saturday’s slate, and will be looking to follow-up a masterful performance last week, with another gem against Hanwha.

 KBO Odds: Saturday, August 29th

Odds as of Aug. 28th.

Straily was brilliant in an 11-0 win over Samsung, throwing six shutout innings and striking out six. His Giants are a massive favorite over the Eagles, and given his last outing against Hanwha, it’s probably justified.

Scoring Will Be at a Premium

Back on July 8th, Straily shutout the Eagles over 7 innings, while punching out seven. He’s held the opposition scoreless in four of his last nine outings, and leads the KBO in strikeouts by a wide margin.

Dan Straily just put up his third 10+ strikeout game of the #KBO season as he punched out 10 over 6 innings today. #LotteGiants @SMKim_Giants @AlexFast8 @MyKBO @danstraily67 now leads the league in strikeouts with 107 on the season in 16 starts. All 10 of today's Ks: pic.twitter.com/J0iPJwWWXS

— Connor Newcomb (@ConnorNewcomb_) July 31, 2020

Hanwha is actually playing better ball lately, having won three of the past five, but still rank at or near the bottom in every offensive category. They’ll send Ee Whan Kim to the mound, who’s fresh off limiting LG to a single run in his first start back from injury. Kim faced Lotte at the beginning of the season, and stymied them over 6 innings in an Eagles victory.

Pick: Under 9.5 (-118)

Dinos Dominate Wyverns

First place NC is 7-2 versus ninth place SK this season, and that record is likely to improve to 8-2 on Saturday. The Dinos will send Drew Rucinski to the mound, who’s effectively the team’s ace with Chang Mo Koo on the injured list. Rucinski is the league’s lone 12-game winner, and is 2-0, with a 1.50 ERA against the Wyverns this season.

Drew Rucinski's slider is one of the best in the #KBO , with a swinging strike% of 19.9%, 2nd among individual pitches (min. 100 pitches). Here's a swinging strike on a slider, followed by two called strikes (slider/sinker) for a K today #KBOLeague pic.twitter.com/LfoeYz4kha

— Ben Howell (Him/Kim) (@benhowell71) August 24, 2020

The Dinos offense has racked up 32 runs already this week, and should have little issue scoring against SK’s Jong Hoon Park. The 29-year-old has surrendered nine runs in his last 8 innings, and hasn’t made it out of the 6th inning in any of his past four starts.

Pick: NC Dinos -1.5 (-134)

Doosan and LG Keep it Low Scoring

Third place LG squares off against fourth place Doosan in what projects to be a low scoring affair. The Bears will trot out Won Joon Choi, who’s off to an 8-0 start and has allowed just three total runs in his last two outings.

Choi Won-joon, 🔥 follow-thru/k strut. pic.twitter.com/EjTm6t1pie

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 12, 2020

The right-hander dazzled in his previous matchup with the Twins, giving up just one run and four hits in 5 innings. LG’s offense has cooled off significantly recently, scoring three or fewer runs in four of six.

The Twins will counter with Chan Gyu Lim, who’s allowed one run or less in five of seven starts, and shutout Doosan over 5.2 innings the last time he faced them.

Pick: Under 10.5 (-126)