KBO Picks & Odds (Sep. 5): SK Wyverns Stuck in Slump vs. Doosan Bears

• The LG Twins are unbeaten in their past eight games, the longest active streak in the KBO
• NC and Samsung are due to put up tons of runs, based on their 12.5-run over/under
• Find all the odds and best bets on Saturday’s five KBO games, below

The top of the KBO standings is beginning to tighten, as the first-place NC Dinos have faltered lately (two losses and a tie in their past three) while third-place LG and fourth-place KT Wiz have crafted the league’s best active unbeaten streaks.

Fresh KBO series begin across the league on Saturday, Sept. 5. Here’s a look at the odds for all five games, which start at 4:00 am ET (1:00 am PT).

KBO Odds: Saturday, September 5th

Odds as of Sept. 4.

LG’s Luck Won’t Run Out

The LG Twins are surging of late, posting a 6-0-2 record in their past eight games. They now have the second-best run differential in the KBO and are nipping at the heels of the second-place Kiwoom Heroes.

LG is staring down a favorable matchup to start their weekend series against the Lotte Giants, getting the chance to tee off against Giants starter Adrian Sampson (5-7, 6.35 ERA).

Sampson has been unimpressive in his debut season in South Korea, and his numbers are downright atrocious against LG. In two starts, he is 0-2 with a 13.03 ERA.

LG and Lotte have split their season series so far, 3-3, but with the Twins as hot as they are — and facing a pitcher they’ve dominated — this is an easy choice.

Pick: LG Twins (-132)

Doosan’s Won-Joon Can’t Be Beat

The Doosan Bears will start Choi Won-Joon on Saturday against the sputtering SK Wyverns — and that spells bad news for the Wyverns.

Won-Joon, a reliever-turned-starter, is 8-0 with a 3.91 ERA. That includes a 2-0 record with a glistening 0.77 ERA against the Wyverns. He last faced them on Aug. 23, allowing one run on six hits in six innings.

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

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 12, 2020

SK was facing an uphill battle anyway against the Bears, who are 8-3 in the season series, but facing Won-Joon certainly won’t help.

The Wyverns are mired in a seven-game losing streak (longest active in the KBO) and it stands to reason that it will soon be extended to eight.

Pick: Doosan Bears (-380)

Why the High Run Total?

The run total for the NC Dinos and Samsung Lions on Saturday is 12.5, the highest of any of the matchups. And sure, the Dinos have the most-potent offense in the league, but history suggests this line is too high.

In seven meetings this year, these teams have produced run totals of 11 or fewer in six games. The lone outlier was an 18-7 victory for NC on May 31.

Lead: snatched.#NCDinos | #KBO pic.twitter.com/U7PlzUBClL

— taewoongi (태웅) (@taewoongii) September 4, 2020

Saturday’s pitching matchup features a pair of unknowns, as neither starter has faced his opponent this season. That adds a challenge for hitters, some of whom figure to be seeing these pitchers for the very first time.

For the game itself, count on NC to snap out its recent funk. The Dinos have won five of seven matchups with Samsung this year.

Pick: NC Dinos (-166); Under 12.5 runs (-128)