KBO Picks & Odds (May 15): First-Place Dinos Find Favorable Matchup With Last-Place Wyverns

• Each team in the Korea Baseball Organization begins a new series on Friday against a new team
• The first-place NC Dinos face the last-place SK Wyverns, who’ve only won once since April 25 (in the preseason)
• Check out the odds and best bets for all May 15 games in the article below

On Friday morning, a new series begins for each team in the Korea Baseball Organization. These new matchups pit teams against each other that haven’t faced off yet, which presents an added challenge for bettors.

But enough games have been played (eight for some teams, nine for others) that hot and cold streaks — at the individual and team level — have begun to emerge. We’ll dive into some of those shortly.

Here’s a look at the entire slate of KBO games for Friday, May 15. All games are set to begin at 5:30 AM ET (2:30 AM PT).

KBO Odds: Friday, May 15

Odds taken May 14.

First vs. Worst

From a moneyline perspective, the matchup between the NC Dinos and the SK Wyverns is a bettor’s delight. The Dinos (7-1) sit alone atop the 10-team KBO, while the Wyverns (1-7) find themselves tied for last — though their -26 run differential suggests they’ve clearly been the league’s worst team to this point.

What a game. The NC #Dinos never say die. pic.twitter.com/paegzaYEVU

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) May 13, 2020

The Wyverns are on a five-game slide. If you look at their season as a whole, including their preseason results, they are 1-10 since April 25.

On the other side of the equation, the Dinos’ only loss this season came in a 10-8 defeat against the LG Twins, in which NC suffered a seven-run implosion in the eighth inning. So overall, they’ve been in control almost their entire season to this point.

Don’t think too hard on this one. Go with the Dinos.

Pick: NC Dinos moneyline (-165)

An Underdog With Even Odds?

Here’s something you don’t see everyday in the betting world: KT Wiz Suwon, on a four-game losing streak, has even odds against the Samsung Lions ahead of Friday’s matchup.

Both teams are receiving -115 moneyline odds, which just goes to show how bettors are viewing KT right now — their luck is bound to change.

https://twitter.com/gregorykhillis/status/1260187162810744834?s=20

Amazingly, KT has lost each of its past four games in one-run fashion. And they led in two of those games. Plus, their past three losses all came against the first-place Dinos, which is worth noting.

All of that is to say that KT, against the 4-5 Lions, have the rightful edge as slight favorites. Bettors should act accordingly.

Pick: KT Wiz Suwon moneyline (-115)

A ‘Lotte’ Riding On Straily

Lotte Giants starter Dan Straily has been lights out in two KBO starts this year (1-0, 1.42 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings). Behind him, the Giants are scoring seven runs per game and batting .307 (second best in the KBO).

Straily and the Giants are in for a tough matchup against the Hanwha Eagles, whose starter Ee-whan Kim allowed only two hits and one run in his first start of the year.

What a start from Dan Straily of the Lotte Giants.

7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 11 K, 0 BB

He was electric today. Here's all 11 strikeouts for the former MLBer. pic.twitter.com/ZvM7esALFJ

— Connor Newcomb (@ConnorNewcomb_) May 10, 2020

The Giants, off to a strong 6-2 start this year, are favorites for a reason. But don’t expect this to be a high-scoring affair.

Pick: Lotte Giants moneyline (-200); Under 9 runs (+100)