KBO Picks & Odds (May 21): Run Totals Rise Despite Low-Scoring Wednesday Slate

• All five Wednesday games in the Korea Baseball Organization hit the under
• The NC Dinos’ seven-game win streak was snapped in dramatic fashion against the Doosan Bears
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on May 21st in the article below

Streaks are meant to be broken, and that’s exactly what happened Wednesday as the NC Dinos saw their seven-game win streak crumble in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to Doosan. Likewise, the SK Wyverns snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Kiwoom.

As those teams reset, it’ll be interesting to see how everyone fares in the final game of their current three-game series. Interestingly enough, the over/under marks have spiked after a rather low-scoring day in the KBO on Wednesday (in which none of the five games exceeded nine total runs).

Here’s a look at the entire slate of KBO games for Thursday, May 21st. All games start at 5:30am ET (2:30am PT).

KBO Odds: Thursday, May 21

Odds taken May 20.

Only Team Streaking

After the Dinos’ loss, there is only one team that has strung more than two wins together: KT Wiz Suwon. They ran their streak up to five with an 8-1 win over the Hanwha Eagles on Wednesday, with an onslaught of 17 hits.

Suwon’s success has been justified recently on this site and should be worth bettors’ attention until they come back to earth.

Mel Rojas Jr. goes big fly and the kt Wiz are on the board. Sweet, sweet swing. pic.twitter.com/Jo5IpZGc21

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 8, 2020

Their over/under ticked up from 9.5 to 10 for Thursday’s game (after Suwon and Hanwha combined for nine runs on Wednesday). But both starters in the coming game have been strong — Hanwha’s Ee-whan Kim is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA; Suwon’s Hyeong-jun So is 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA — and it might be best to stick with the under.

Pick: KT Wiz Suwon -1.5 (+105); Under 10 (-105)

Don’t Give Up On The Heroes

Somebody had to lose to the SK Wyverns, right? It didn’t have to be the Kiwoom Heroes, but alas, that’s the team that bit the bullet. They even took a lead into the final third of the game — before the bullpen caved in as part of a 5-3 loss.

Still, the Heroes are hefty moneyline favorites for a reason. They have the third-best run differential in the KBO (plus-11) and the second best ERA (3.73). SK is last in both of those categories, as well as team batting average.

Neither team has been impressive at the plate, but Kiwoom is still clearly a cut above SK.

Pick: Kiwoom Heroes moneyline (-200); Under 10 (-120)

What’s Going On With Lotte?

The Lotte Giants, last year’s basement dweller in the KBO, was the surprise of the league in Week 1, with five-straight wins. They’ve since lost six of eight games, including the first two in their current series against the KIA Tigers.

Lotte’s offense has nosedived of late, scoring only 12 runs in its past five games.

KBO's first triple play of 2020 turned by the KIA Tigers pic.twitter.com/I0xjlLqUeP

— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 20, 2020

Yet oddsmakers still make Lotte the favorite, setting the runline at KIA +1.5 (-155) as the Tigers go for the sweep. Bettors should take note — and take advantage. And if you count on the Giants to continue slumping offensively (while noting that the Tigers are seventh in the KBO in runs per game), it makes sense to roll with the under.

Pick: KIA Tigers +1.5 (-155); Under 10 (-115)