KBO Betting Picks for Friday, April 30

The final day of April brings the start of five new series across the KBO. The Doosan Bears were the big winners on Thursday, as they avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Kiwoom with a huge 15-4 victory over the Heroes. On Friday, Doosan will return home to host SSG Landers in the first of a three-game weekend series.

MyBookie already has its usual crop of KBO odds posted ahead of Friday’s action, so let’s try to dig up a little betting value as w get ready for the weekend.

SSG Landers vs Doosan Bears

As mentioned, the Bears broke out the lumber in a big way on Thursday with a 15-run explosion against Kiwoom. Nine different hitters drove in runs as a part of the onslaught, led by four RBIs from Suk-hwan Yang. The Bears will look to keep the momentum rolling on Friday, where they’ll open a three-game weekend series against SSG as -169 moneyline favorites. SSG can be had at +121 to win this one on the moneyline.

A pair of former big leaguers go toe-to-toe in this one. Former Texas Ranger Wilmer Font is set for another start for the Landers, while Ariel Miranda gets the nod for Doosan. Miranda, a lefty, has been pretty solid in his first season with the Bears. Miranda is 3-0 through four starts with a 2.45 ERA, though he did get roughed up a bit by NC in his last outing. The Dinos got to Miranda for five runs on nine hits, which was easily his worst KBO outing to date. Miranda hadn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his first three starts.

Font is also in his first tour of duty in the league. The right-hander is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.00 through four games. He took a no-decision after yielding three runs on six hits against the Heroes last time out, which came on the heels of his first KBO win over Kia. Font spent most of his time in the big leagues working out of the bullpen, so he’s attempting to reinvent himself as a starter in Korea.

It’s easy to like Doosan here. Miranda was the better pitcher in the major leagues, so it’s hardly a surprise to see him finding a good bit of success in the KBO thus far. If you’re betting on the KBO then you’ll want to wager Doosan to pick up another win at home tonight. That -169 moneyline is fine. If you want a bit more bang for your buck, take a shot on the Bears to cover the runline at +119.

Hanwha Eagles vs Lotte Giants

Hanwha fought hard last night before ultimately falling 4-3 in 11 innings against Kia. The Eagles were swept by the Tigers in the process, and Hanwha is now alone in last place in the league standings once again. That’s familiar territory for this team, though, as they were the worst team in the KBO last year, too.

The Eagles are sizable +174 moneyline underdogs on the road tonight against Lotte. The Giants were beaten last night by Andrew Suarez and the Twins, but they’re huge -250 favorites to get back in the win column this evening. Lotte will start Se-woong Park in this one, while Hanwha counters with Yi-hwan Kim.

Park hasn’t been all that great in his career, but he has looked good to begin 2021. The righty is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA through four starts this term, and he’s fresh off of a win on the road against the Wiz in his last game. Tonight he’ll be in a good spot to keep the positive momentum going against an Eagles lineup that will surely finish the season as one of the worst in the KBO.

Kim is only 20 years old and still looking to find his footing. The righty has gotten off to a decent start this season in four games, including two starts. Kim has a 4.76 ERA to this point, which is better than his career 5.76 mark.

The -250 moneyline odds on Lotte aren’t worth your time, but this is another spot in which the runline looks a bit more appealing. Oddsmakers don’t have any faith whatsoever in Hanwha in this spot, so bet the Giants to cover that runline at home.

LG Twins vs Samsung Lions

LG got the better of Lotte last night, 3-2, in a pitcher’s duel. The Twins are now a league-best 13-9 on the year as they prepare to take on the Samsung Lions this weekend. Samsung is 13-10, so this looks like a fun matchup between a couple of teams that weren’t necessarily expected to finish at the top of the table this season.

MyBookie is backing Samsung as a -169 home favorite tonight, with LG at +122. The Lions have Tae-in Won slated to draw the start in this one, with Yun-sik Kim going for LG. Won looks like one of the most promising young pitchers in the league. He kept his ERA under 5.00 in each of his first two years as a pro, and so far this season he has a sparkling 1.50 mark with a 3-1 record across four starts. Won has won each of his last three outings without allowing more than two runs all season. He was a hard-luck loser despite allowing just one run at Doosan in his first game of 2021.

Kim pitched to a 6.25 ERA a season ago. He has lowered that to 2.84 through five games so far this year, but all of those appearances have come in relief. Tonight will mark Kim’s first start of the year, and he was much more hittable in a starting role as a rookie last year for the Twins. Kim got up to 70 pitches in his most recent appearance, but the Lions can still expect to see a few different pitchers coming out of the LG bullpen in this one.

With Won on the hill, it’s easy to like Samsung at home here tonight. I’ll take the Lions at -169 to win it and gain some ground on LG in the standings.

Kia Tigers vs KT Wiz

The KT Wiz took their three-game set over SSG Landers with a 6-1 triumph on Thursday night. Kia, meanwhile, outlasted Hanwha in extra innings. Both of these teams come into the weekend at 12-10 on the year and tied for third in the league standings behind LG and Samsung.

MyBookie likes the Wiz quite a bit in the series opener as -178 moneyline favorites in a game with a 9.5-run over/under. KT will have Young-pyo Ko on the mound here, while the Tigers will pitch right-hander Yu-sin Kim. Not to be confused with Twins starter Yun-sik Kim, of course.

Ko is in his first year with KT since 2018 after missing the past few years due to obligatory military service. The right-hander has looked good so far, with a 2-1 record and a 3.38 ERA across his first four games back in the rotation. Ko has never posted an ERA under 5.00 in any of his previous four KBO campaigns, so it’s worth wondering whether his solid early-season work is a mirage.

Kim is a 21-year-old lefty in his second KBO season. He was awful last year, with a 9.69 ERA in 10 games, but he wasn’t bad in his season debut last week against LG. Kim allowed a couple of runs on just one hit, but he also walked five while striking out only three hitters.

This actually looks like a pretty good spot to bet the over on 9.5 runs. I’m not at all sold on Ko’s sudden emergence as a quality pitcher, so some regression can be expected there. Kim looks legitimately bad, so the KT offense should be able to do plenty of damage here. Take the over.

Kiwoom Heroes vs NC Dinos

Kiwoom nearly bounced back from a lengthy losing streak with a sweep before Doosan pounded the Heroes 15-4 on Thursday. The NC Dinos, meanwhile, got back on track with a much-needed 9-0 win over Samsung. The Dinos are likely to finish the season near the top of the standings after winning it all last year, while Kiwoom has been one of the KBO’s worst teams early in the year.

NC isn’t a huge favorite at home on Friday (-136), and this game has the highest implied total (10.5 runs) on the slate. Dong-yeon Kang will climb the mound for the Bears. Won-tae Choi goes for Kiwoom.

Kang has never posted an ERA better than 5.00 since debuting with Doosan in 2013. He has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen until this season, as he’s made two starts already this term. Kang yielded six runs on nine hits in his last game against Doosan, and there’s just nothing about his numbers to suggest he’s anything but a below-average arm in this league.

Choi has been up-and-down over the years, as well. His 4.95 ERA this season is fairly underwhelming, but he has allowed three or fewer runs in three of his four games. His career 4.47 ERA isn’t as bad as that of Kang, but he is going up against the Dinos’ stacked lineup tonight.

This looks like another good spot to bet the over (-123), but I’m actually interested in the value on Kiwoom’s moneyline. Kang is not the best the Dinos have to offer, so the Heroes should be in line to do some damage here.