KBO Picks & Odds (September 12): Jokisch Battles the Bears

•  Kiwoom’s Eric Jokisch is looking to rebound from his shortest outing of the season 
• Samsung has been outscored by 22 runs during its five-game winless streak
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on September 12th in the article below

The Kiwoom Heroes enter play on Saturday within striking distance of top spot in the KBO standings. Kiwoom is currently 1.5 games behind first place NC, and will open up a critical two-game set with defending champion Doosan at 4:00 am EST.

 KBO Odds: Saturday, September 12th

Odds as of Sept. 11th.

The Heroes and Bears total opened at 9.5 which isn’t nearly as low as it sounds. That’s because Kiwoom will be trotting out Eric Jokisch, who leads the league in ERA and WHIP.

Jokisch Eyes Revenge

It’s particularly impressive that the left-hander is still atop those categories considering he’s fresh off his shortest outing of the season. He lasted just 2 innings in a no-decision versus KT Wiz, allowing four runs and three hits along the way.

Eric Jokisch's command was rusty today, as he made his first start in a few weeks against KT. He made it through 2 clean innings before walking a bunch of batters. But he did get 8 whiffs against the Wiz. Here are a few of them (curveball/4-Seam/changeup) #KBO #KBOLeague pic.twitter.com/yNbLpTEFZW

— Ben Howell (he/him) (@benhowell71) September 6, 2020

That outing was his first start since returning from the injured list, so we can excuse the rust. Prior to that, he stymied LG in back-to-back outings, limiting the Twins to a single run over 12 innings.

He’s faced the Bears twice this season, with mixed results. He was rocked in his first outing in a convincing loss, but rebounded a week later to hold them to two runs over 5 innings. Doosan is the only team he’s yet to beat this season, and they’ve been very inconsistent lately.

They’re just a game over .500 in their last 13, and have scored almost a full run below their season average this week. The good news for Bears fans is that they’ll give the ball to Won Joon Choi, who’s been exceptional recently.

In a short 3 IP (rain delay), Choi Won-joon struck out 6 LG batters, showcasing the horizontal movement that he gets on his slider and sinker. Here's his slider, then sinker x2 in action for a few whiffs against Park Yong-taik and Kim Hyun-soo #KBO #KBOLeague pic.twitter.com/8k6rvGnKiB

— Ben Howell (he/him) (@benhowell71) August 29, 2020

The submariner has been mowing down KBO batters, striking out at least five in three straight outings. He’s 9-0 this season, and has surrendered two runs or less in four straight starts.

Pick: Under 9.5 (+102)

LG Prolongs Samsung’s Struggles

Samsung is in a funk. They’re winless in five and fresh off a 12-4 blowout loss to Lotte. The Lions have been outscored by 22 runs during their recent skid, and things won’t get any easier on Saturday.

Lim Chan-gyu held the Lotte Giants to 1 run in 6 IP, relying heavily on his changeup, throwing it 32% of the time. Here are a couple of his swings and misses from yesterday (curveball/changeup/changeup) #KBO #KBOLeague pic.twitter.com/D69LjNau6W

— Ben Howell (he/him) (@benhowell71) September 6, 2020

Samsung will have its hands full with LG’s Chan Gyu Lim, who’s fresh off an outstanding outing. Five days ago he held the Giants to one run over 6 innings, and he’s now surrendered one run or less in five of his past seven starts.

The Twins are currently jockeying with the Heroes for second place and need to get back on track after dropping three of four. They’ll square off against Ben Lively, who’s winless in his last three appearances, and just gave up 10 hits in 4.2 innings to Kiwoom. He’s 3-7 this season, and has produced a quality start in just three of his 12 outings.

Pick: LG Twins -1.5 (+136)