The 2nd week of the Korean Baseball Organization gets underway on Tuesday at 4:30 ET. The inaugural few games were marred by some weather concerns and the big surprise is that the 2019 last place finishing Lotte Giants are the only undefeated team left in 2020. May 12th KBO betting will be another interesting one.
KT Wiz (+110) vs. NC Dinos (-160) O8.5 ESPN
It’s been a very successful start to the ’20 Korean baseball season for the Dinos who have gone 4-1 out of the gates. NC is coming off their first loss of the year on Sunday to LG in a 10-8 game in which their offense put up 8+ runs for the third straight game.
The Wiz are on the other end of that spectrum, mired in last place at 1-4. KT put up a dozen runs in each of their last two games vs. Doosan, but went just 1-1 over that span.
This would look like a potential offensive outpouring with the way these two teams have had the bats clicking as of late. KT starter Odrisamer Despaigne (0-0, 1.50 ERA) allowed just 1 ER in his first start while NC’s Drew Rucinski (1-0, 0.00) threw 6 scoreless.
Pick: Over 8.5
Update: NC 7 KT 6
Doosan Bears (-200) vs. Lotte Giants (+150) O10
The Lotte Giants still aren’t getting much love heading into May 12th KBO betting, listed as +150 underdogs despite their 5-0 start to the season. The defending champion Bears have been throttled in their two series openers this season, 2-8 to LG and 3-12 vs. KT.
Oddsmakers are expecting some runs in this one with a total of 10. Raul Alcantara starts for Doosan after allowing 3 ER in 6.0 IP in his ’20 debut. Jang Won-sam puts Lotte at a disadvantage here as he has just 11 starts the last two years with Samsung and LG.
Pick: Over 10
Update: Doosan 11 Lotte 6
Kia Tigers (-190) vs. Hanwha Eagles (+135) O8.5
Could the Kia offense finally be ready to start reaching their potential coming off a 12-3 win over Samsung on Sunday? Kia’s Preston Tucker leads the KBO in HRs and RBI while Sun Bin Kim has a .450 average and has scored a league high 7 runs. Both Kia and Hanwha have started the year 2-4, with the Eagles having dropped three straight while scoring 3 runs each game.
Kia goes with Aaron Brooks on the mound who got a no decision in his first start despite throwing 5-2/3 of 1 run ball in his KBO debut on 5/6. Kim Min-woo didn’t fare so well in his ’20 debut for Hanwha, giving up 3 ER in 4-1/3 vs. SK. Gotta think the Kia offense exploits this.
Pick: Kia -1.5 (-110)
Update: Kia 2 Hanwha 1
SK Wyverns (-120) vs. LG Twins (-115) O8
Oddsmakers are calling this May 12th KBO betting matchup a close, low-scoring affair between SK and LG. The Wyverns have started off just 1-4 on the season and were shut out Sunday but had put up 16 totals runs the two games prior. LG snapped a 3-game losing streak on Sunday by handing the NC Dinos their 1st loss of the year, 10-8.
The total seems low in this one despite the fact that SK was held to 3 hits their last game. SK starter Nick Kingham (0-1, 3.86 ERA) should be better in his 2nd KBO start while LG’s Cha Woo-chan was dominant with 6 IP of 3 hit ball vs. Doosan last week. Not a bad price for LG in that regard.
Pick: LG Twins -115
Update: LG 9 SK 5
Samsung Lions (+155) vs. Kiwoom Heroes (-225) O8.5
Kiwoom has used defense as the backbone to their 5-1 start, holding 5 of their opponents to 3 runs or less so far in ’20. May 12th KBO betting has the Heroes as huge -225 favorites vs. the 2-4 Samsung Lions. The Lions were swept by NC to begin the series, but bounced back with a series win over Kia. That also includes a 3-12 loss on Sunday when the Tigers belted out 15 hits.
Ben Lively struggled in his 1st start of the season for Samsung, allowing 4 ER in 6.0 IP while serving up 2HR to NC last week. Eric Jokisch looks to build on a very solid first start for Kiwoom in which he went 5IP while allowing just 1 ER. Kiwoom just the better team here.
Pick: Kiwoom -1.5 (-110)
Update: Kimoom 3 Samsung 2
