KBO Betting Predictions: Thursday, April 15th

The LG Twins were the big winners on Wednesday, as they piled up 13 runs in an 11-run demolition of the Kiwoom Heroes. LG bounced back following an 8-2 loss to Kiwoom on Tuesday, and the two teams are slated to play the finale of their midweek series on Thursday.

The NC Dinos, Kia Tigers, Doosan Bears, and Hanwha Eagles were among the other winners on Wednesday. We’ve got another five-game slate on tap for Thursday, so let’s dive right in.

Hanwha Eagles vs Samsung Lions

Hanwha picked up a 6-2 win over Samsung on Wednesday to pull to 4-5 on the young season. The Eagles got three hits apiece from Ha Ju-suk and Ryon Healy, while Roh Si-hwan drove in a couple. Hanwha scored three off of Samsung starter Lee Seung-min, while Nick Kingham impressively held the Lions scoreless over six two-hit innings.

Kim Min-woo will take the ball for Hanwha in Thursday’s finale, while David Buchanan toes the rubber for the Lions. Kim picked up a no-decision in his first start of the season after allowing a couple of runs against the KT Wiz before winning his last start over Doosan. Kim struck out seven while scattering five hits through six impressive innings of work against a talented and deep Bears offense in his last outing.

Buchanan is 1-1 on the year, but he did pitch six shutout innings of his own in his last outing against KT. Buchanan struck out eight in his first start of the year at Kiwoom, but he took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in that one. Last year, he was one of the league’s best pitchers. Buchanan finished with a 15-7 record and a 3.45 ERA in 27 games in his first year in the KBO.

It’s hard not to like Samsung to fight back and win this one today. Buchanan should be able to build off of his last outing against the Wiz and mow down what should be one of the weakest lineups in the league today. Samsung will close out the series with a victory. There isn’t much value in taking the Lions to win outright at -217 on the moneyline betting option, but the -105 odds on the runline (-1.5) are reasonable.

KT Wiz vs Doosan Bears

The Bears beat the KT Wiz 3-1 on Wednesday thanks to a two-hit effort from Park Kun-woo and a pair of RBIs from Yang Suk-hwan. Lee Young-ha also pitched well, holding the Wiz to just a run on six hits in 5.1 solid innings of work. The Bears’ bullpen also yielded just one hit over 3.2 scoreless innings to close things out.

Yoo Hee-kwan gets the ball for Doosan on Thursday, and he’ll be opposed by Wiz right-hander William Cuevas. Yoo was crushed in his first outing of the year by Hanwha, as he allowed a whopping six runs on nine hits, including a couple of home runs, back on April 9. The 34-year-old has been with Doosan since 2009, but he has finished just one season since 2016 with a sub-5.00 ERA.

Cuevas, who is in his third season with KT after previously having pitched for the Colorado Rockies, will be making his 2021 debut. The 30-year-old went 10-8 in 27 starts last season with a 4.10 ERA after posting a 3.62 ERA in his first year back in 2019. Cuevas went 1-1 with a no-decision in three starts against the Bears last year.

Yoo was absolutely awful in his season debut, and the fact that he pitched that poorly against a mediocre Hanwha lineup doesn’t inspire much confidence moving forward. Cuevas is a perfectly respectable pitcher on the other side of this one, so I don’t mind the value in taking KT to pick up the win at -102 on the moneyline here.

LG Twins vs Kiwoom Heroes

The Twins teed off on Kiwoom starter Kim Jeong-in last night, scoring five runs on seven hits with three home runs against the Heroes right-hander. Kim Hyun-soo, Yoo Kang-Nam, Chae Eun-seong, and Jung Ju-hyeon all went deep as LG put 13 runs on the board.

Kiwoom will try to fight back with right-hander Eric Jokisch on the mound on Thursday, while Ham Deok-ju gets the ball for LG. Jokisch was one of the best pitchers in the KBO a season ago, finishing 12-7 with a tidy 2.14 ERA in nearly 160 innings of work for the Heroes. He improved upon the 3.13 ERA he posted in his first year in the league two years ago, and he has picked up right where he left off so far this season.

Jokisch allowed just one run in seven dominant innings against Samsung back on April 3, and he followed that up by shutting out the Lotte Giants in seven more innings last time out. Jokisch posted the best ERA in the KBO last season, so the Heroes have their ace on the hill tonight.

Ham is a 26-year-old lefty that will be making his second start and third overall appearance on the young season. He picked up a win in relief against the NC Dinos on April 4 before taking a no-decision in his start against SSG Landers on April 9. Ham has spent most of his career with Doosan pitching in relief, and this is his first year with LG. He’ll likely only pitch 3-4 innings here in what amounts to a bullpen game for the Twins.

I’m not betting against Jokisch at this point, and neither should you. Kiwoom is a heavy -178 favorite with their top starter on the mound, and I’m fine with going there on the moneyline tonight.

Lotte Giants vs Kia Tigers

The Giants beat the Tigers 8-0 on Tuesday before Kia fought back with a 3-2 triumph in last night’s game. The Tigers picked up the win in the 12th inning thanks to a Kim Min-sik sacrifice fly in the 12th. Both starters in the game were excellent. Kia’s Aaron Brooks piled up six scoreless innings while allowing just five hits, while Lotte’s Lee Seung-heon allowed just a couple of runs in six solid innings of his own.

Kim Jin-uk will go for the Giants in the series finale, while the Tigers counter will Lee Eui-lee. Kim took the loss in his first start of the year against Kiwoom after yielding six runs on five hits in five innings on April 9. The 18-year-old rookie is far from a finished product at this young stage of his career, but he did impressively strike out six in his first-ever KBO start.

Lee just so happens to be another 18-year-old rookie. The lefty picked up a no-decision last time out against Kiwoom after allowing two runs on three hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out three while walking three in a game the Tigers would go on to win, 5-3.

This game is essentially a toss-up with a pair of inexperienced young pitchers taking the mound. Kia is listed at betting websites that offer KBO odds as a slight -129 home favorite, while you can get Lotte at -106 to win the game straight-up on the road. Frankly, the best way to attack this game may be to bet the over on 9.5 runs (-115). A game featuring a pair of rookie starters certainly has the potential to turn into a bit of a shootout.

NC Dinos vs SSG Landers

NC got the better of SSG Landers for the second time in a row on Wednesday with a 3-0 shutout triumph. Right-hander Wes Parsons posted 5.2 shutout innings before four relievers mopped things up to complete what was an impressive all-around pitching performance. The Dinos managed to score three runs despite picking up just two hits. A Kim Tae-gun two-run double in the fifth was ultimately the big blow in the game.

The Dinos will attempt to complete the sweep on Thursday with Kim Young-kyu on the mound. SSG Landers will have Lee Geun-wook toeing the rubber. Kim posted ERAs over 5.00 in each of his first two KBO seasons before allowing four runs on four hits in just 2.2 innings of work in his 2021 debut against the Giants. Kim has bounced back-and-forth between the rotation and the bullpen early in his career, and he is pretty clearly one of the weaker pitchers on the NC staff at this point.

Lee pitched in 27 games last year, including 25 starts, in his first full KBO campaign. The right-hander finished the season with a 5.68 ERA and a 6-12 record across those 27 outings while striking out just 91 in 122 innings. He gave up five runs on three hits with six walks in his first start of the year against the Twins last week.

Given the weakness of both starting pitchers, it’s no surprise that this game comes with the highest over/under of the day at 10.5 runs. The over on 10.5 (-129) looks like a pretty good bet here, especially considering the Dinos still boast the league’s most prolific offense. The bats were quiet on Wednesday, but NC should have no trouble against a weak right-hander like Lee. You’re not getting much bang for your buck on the Dinos’ -207 moneyline, so bet the over in this one.