KBO Playoff Picks and Odds (Nov. 9): Chris Flexen on Everyone

• Doosan faces KT Wiz on Monday in Game 1 of the KBO Playoff
• The Bears took the season series 8-4
• Find odds and best bets for the KBO’s one-game playoff slate on November 9th in the article below

And then there were three. After dispatching LG in the Semi-Playoff, defending champion Doosan will clash with KT Wiz on Monday, in Game 1 of a best-of-5 series for the right to face NC in the Korean Series.

First pitch is slated for 4:30 am EST, and will feature arguably the league’s best pitcher down the stretch. Chris Flexen will toe the rubber for Doosan, riding a personal five-game winning streak.

 KBO Playoff Odds: Game 1

Odds as of Nov. 8th at FanDuel.

KT Wiz will counter with Hyeong Jun So, who’s been incredibly sharp recently as well. With such a strong starting pitching matchup on deck, it’s no surprise the total opened at just 8.5, with Doosan favored on the moneyline.

Flexen in Fine Form

Dating back to the regular season, Doosan has won six straight games. Flexen has been on the mound for two of those victories, but his dominance extends back much further than that.

Chris Flexen's 11Ks. pic.twitter.com/wuzJNjNtJr

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 4, 2020

He’s allowed just one run over his last four starts, and was absolutely brilliant in his first playoff outing versus the Twins. He scattered four hits over 6.2 innings, striking out 11 LG batters along the way. He’s posted a 49-3 strikeout-to-walk rate over his last five outings and was phenomenal against KT Wiz in his lone start against them this season.

#KBO pitching: With 11 Ks vs. LG Twins, Chris Flexen of the Doosan Bears tied the mark for most strikeouts by a foreign pitcher in a KBO postseason game (Michael Bowden for Doosan in 2016, Josh Lindblom for Lotte in 2017)

— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) November 4, 2020

Exactly a month ago, Flexen shutout KT Wiz over 7 innings, allowing just four hits while striking out 9. KT Wiz boasts a formidable offense, ranking top-three in most key categories, but struggled versus the Bears in the regular season, dropping of eight of their 12 matchups.

So So Def

Heyong Jun So meanwhile, has flown under the radar for most of the season, but it’s impossible to ignore what he’s accomplished. He posted a 13-6 record, and allowed more than three earned runs in just three of 24 starts. He held his opponents below three runs in 19 of those outings, including all five versus Doosan.

So Hyeong-jun, Nasty Changeup getting a Taz🌪️ swing. pic.twitter.com/6blUFoqsKP

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 9, 2020

He racked up a 3-1 record against the Bears, and a tidy 2.51 ERA. The defending champs have been clicking at the plate recently, crossing the plate 13 times in their two-game sweep of LG, while averaging a league best 6.22 runs during the final month of the regular season.

Play the Under

Playoff baseball breeds low-scoring games, but even more so than that, Chris Flexen starts breed low-scoring affairs.

Chris Flexen with 7K in 3 innings #Untouchable pic.twitter.com/VqdFf2ulWX

— Bears Diary (@TheBearsDiary) November 4, 2020

Each of his past 11 outings have produced a total under 9, including his playoff start last week. We rode that trend to a profitable bet last week, and with So on the mound on the other side, the under looks like the play once again.