KBO Picks & Odds (July 4): A Power Outage Looms Between SK and Lotte

• SK and Lotte are two of the three lowest scoring teams in the league
• First Place NC is looking for its first win in four meetings with KIA
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on July 4th in the article below

For the first time in eight games, the SK Wyverns are fresh off a contest that went over the total. SK took down Lotte 7-4 on Friday, cashing as a +130 underdog and eclipsing the over/under of 9.

The Wyverns took advantage of a favorable matchup versus Tigers’ starter Adrian Sampson, but all signs point to them playing another low scoring game on Saturday when the KBO schedule resumes as 5:00 am EST.

 KBO Odds: Saturday, July 4th

Odds as of July 3rd.

Wyverns Will Regress Offensively

SK’s offense will take on 19-year-old Jun Won Seo, who will be extra fresh after getting an additional week’s rest following his previous start to “preserve” his youthful arm. The right-hander has shown flashes of brilliance this season, and has been especially strong at home. He’s 2-0 on home turf, allowing just 2.2 runs per start.

nasty low sidearm breaking ball from Lotte Giants rookie RHP Seo Jun-Won. #KBO pic.twitter.com/oUcbbNRYky

— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) April 19, 2019

He’s undefeated in his last six outings, and prior to Friday, the Wyverns had scored just four runs over a five-game stretch.

You could bet Lotte straight up, but I prefer the under in this matchup. Another reason to expect runs to be a premium is SK starter Joo Han Kim. The right-hander has allowed just one earned run in both starts this season, and only SK and Hanwha have scored fewer times than the Giants.

Pick: Under 9.0 (-110)

Can the Dinos Finally Tame the Tigers?

First place NC has had their way with virtually every opponent this season except KIA. The Tigers pounded the Dinos 8-2 on Friday, improving them to 3-0 versus the KBO’s best in 2020.

That should change on Saturday, as top-five hurler Drew Rucinski takes the ball for NC, while KIA counters with Hyun Jong Yang and his 4.67 ERA.

Yang has been hit hard multiple times this season, including two starts ago when he surrendered eight runs to Samsung. The left-hander is winless in three straight and has allowed an average of nine base runners over that stretch. A similar performance against the Dinos would be disastrous. NC leads the KBO in runs, home runs and extra base hits.

Drew Rucinski, White Castle Special. 🍔🍔🍔 pic.twitter.com/yJEeRbsNgu

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2020

The Dinos will counter with Drew Rucinski, who’s fresh off 7 shutout innings of four-hit ball versus Doosan and sports a tidy 2.38 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

Pick: NC Dinos moneyline (-158)

Samsung at Plus Money is a Steal

Samsung enters play on Saturday as one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won four straight, outscoring their opponents 26-11 over that stretch, and are coming off a 9-7 win over LG.

However, a quick look at the odds board shows the Lions as +120 home underdogs. One of the reasons for that line, is the recent performance of Twins starter Chan Gyu Lim, although it may be a tad misleading. Lim has allowed just four runs total in his last three starts, but each of those outings were against the two lowest scoring teams in the league (SK and Hanwha). The last time he faced a solid offense, he was tagged for six runs by Kiwoom, and he also surrendered six runs to KIA in the start before that.

18-year old Samsung rookie pitcher Heo Yoon-dong went 5 innings, 4 hits, 1K, & got the W in his KBO debut.

I think back to 18-year old MyKBO & I was probably getting ready to graduate high school, but mostly planning my senior week trip to a lovely place called Ocean City, MD😬 pic.twitter.com/AgkaM5QMIW

— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 28, 2020

The Lions meanwhile, have won nine of 11 overall, and will give the ball to Yoon Don Heo. The rookie is undefeated in four starts this season, and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any outing.

Pick: Samsung Lions moneyline (+120)