KBO Picks & Odds (September 22): Stick With KT Wiz Against Straily

•  KT Wiz has won five straight, outscoring its opponents by 22 runs
• LG is 11-2 versus SK this season
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s five-game slate on September 22nd in the article below

Third place KT Wiz continued its scorching hot play over the weekend sweeping SK and outscoring them 15-2. The Suwon have now won five straight and will look to extend their winning streak to six on Tuesday, at 5:30 am EST, against the Lotte Giants.

 KBO Odds: Tuesday, September 22nd

Odds as of Sept. 21st at FanDuel.

Lotte, who sit 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot, opened as a big home favorite in large part due to the pitching matchup. They’ll give the ball to ace Dan Straily, who leads the KBO in strikeouts.

Straily Showing Signs of Vulnerability

Straily however, hasn’t been himself lately. Last time out he walked four batters and hit another in just 5 innings versus Kiwoom. In his previous start, he allowed eight hits and seven runs to KIA, and two outings before that he was lit up by Hanwha.

Straily’s Last Four Home Starts

The 31-year-old has struggled especially at home over the last month, posting just one win in four starts, and allowing an average of 4.75 runs per outing.

That kind of effort simply won’t cut it against the Suwon. KT Wiz has outscored its opponents by 22 runs over its winning streak, despite not getting much production from Mel Rojas jr. The KBO’s home run king has just two hits in his last four contests, and hasn’t homered in two weeks. If Rojas turns it around this week, the Suwon’s offense will be awfully hard to stop.

El #️⃣3️⃣6️⃣ para Mel Rojas Jr. 🔥🔥🔥
⠀
📺: MyKBO
⠀#ESPN#LiderMundial pic.twitter.com/TfuZR6YrmQ

— ESPN.com.do🇩🇴 (@ESPN_DO) September 5, 2020

He’s hitting .316 versus Lotte this year, with 12 hits and 3 home runs in 38 plate appearances.

KT Wiz will counter with Min Soo Kim, which is definitely a reason for pessimism. Kim owns a 6.06 ERA, but did show promise in his last outing limiting Samsung to just one run over 5 innings. He struggled in his only start versus the Giants this season, but the Suwon bats have more than enough firepower to keep this game close.

Pick: KT Wiz Suwon +1.5 (-108)

LG Owns SK This Season

After reeling off six straight wins, SK has come crashing down to earth. The Wyverns have dropped four straight and their outlook doesn’t look promising for Tuesday. That’s because they’ll face the LG Twins, who’ve absolutely owned them in 2020.

LG is 11-2 versus SK, and have outscored them by 45 runs over their last six meetings (no that’s not a typo).

The Twins will send Casey Kelly to the mound, who’s been on fire recently. The 30-year-old is fresh off back-to-back stellar outings, allowing just two runs in 12 total innings. He’s surrendered one run or less in three straight and five of his past six starts.

Great stuff from Casey Kelly against Hanwha today. He's been excellent down the stretch for LG, with an ERA of just 1.94 ERA over his last 51 IP. Here's a look at his curveball (30% whiff%) and slider (34% whiff%) from today #KBO #KBOLeague pic.twitter.com/L0ov9UCfDH

— Ben Howell (he/him) (@benhowell71) September 16, 2020

SK scored just twice in a weekend series versus KT Wiz and have been outscored by 20 runs during their recent skid. They’ll send Jong Hoon Park to the mound, who gave up five runs last time out against KIA and has allowed at least five runs in three of his past five starts.

Pick: LG Twins -1.5 (-154)