KBO Picks for Wednesday, May 5

The KBO will be back in action after Tuesday’s games were postponed. The Samsung Lions sit atop the league at 16-10 after an impressive three-game sweep of the LG Twins over the weekend, while LG, KT, Doosan, and SSG are the only other teams with records better than .500.

Lotte are bringing up the rear at 10-15, which puts them slightly behind Kiwoom and Hanwha at the bottom of the table. We’ve got five new series set to get underway on May 5, and MyBookie already has a fresh batch of odds posted and ready to roll.

Kia Tigers vs Lotte Giants

The Giants may have the worst record in the KBO, but Lotte checks in as a massive -192 moneyline favorite at home on Wednesday with the Kia Tigers in town. Lotte was embarrassingly swept by lowly Hanwha at home over the weekend, while the Tigers were swept themselves by the KT Wiz.

Lotte is favored so heavily tonight because ace Dan Straily is set to take the mound. He’ll be opposed by Daniel Mengden in a matchup of a pair of former Oakland A’s right-handers. This game comes with an over/under of 8.5 runs.

Straily bounced back with a win in his last start after he held the Twins scoreless in six dominant innings of work. The 32-year-old has a 2.73 ERA so far this season after posting a 2.50 mark as a KBO rookie in 2020, and he really has just one bad start on his ledger so far this term. He allowed four runs on eight hits against Doosan two starts ago, but this is probably the best starting pitcher the league has to offer. Lotte isn’t a good team, but they’ll still be favored in most of Straily’s outings.

Mengden has pitched well in his own right in his first year in the league. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA to this point, and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last three starts. Mengden may not be quite as dominant as Straily is at this level, but he may still make his way to the top of Kia’s rotation moving forward. He won’t overpower opposing hitters, but he should enjoy a solid outing against a lackluster Giants offense.

I like the under in this one. We have two quality pitchers taking the mound against a pair of middling offenses, and the 8.5-run 0ver/under is a little on the high side. Bet the under on that at -111.

KT Wiz vs Kiwoom Heroes

The KT Wiz throttled Kia over the weekend, outscoring the Tigers by a combined score of 27-5 over the course of the three games. KT will look to keep the good times rolling tonight against a Kiwoom team that surprisingly took two of three on the road against NC.

Oddsmakers like the Wiz as -149 moneyline favorites on the road tonight, while you can get Kiwoom at +112 on the moneyline. The 9.5 over/under for this game is also tied for the highest total on the slate. KT will have William Cuevas on the mound here, while Kiwoom counters with Woo-jin An.

Cuevas isn’t the best former big leaguer currently occupying a KBO rotation spot, but he has given the Wiz some good innings since his debut in 2019. Cuevas has a career 3.85 ERA in the league, including a 4,05 mark through three games this season. He was impressive last time out, as he shut out SSG Landers over the course of five strong innings.

An is a 21-year-old righty that has made four starts for Kiwoom this season. He’s 0-2 to this point with a 6.14 ERA, which is hardly surprising given his 5.29 lifetime ERA in the KBO. An has actually shown pretty good strikeout ability, which is rare for pitchers in this league, but he’ll be up against a red-hot KT offense in this one.

With Cuevas on the mound, I like the Wiz. KT’s bats should be able to take advantage of a middling right-hander in An, and the -149 moneyline odds are still very attackable.

LG Twins vs Doosan Bears

The Twins have gotten off to a solid start this season, but they were humbled in a three-game sweep at the hands of Samsung over the weekend. LG will hit the road tonight to face a Doosan Bears squad that won their three-game series against SSG.

MyBookie has Doosan as -136 favorites at home in tonight’s series opener against LG, and this game has the lowest over/under (7.5) of all. The low total makes sense given the quality of the starters in this one. Doosan will have star KBO rookie Walker Lockett toeing the rubber here, while LG starts Casey Kelly.

Lockett has done just about everything right through his first five starts in Korea. The former San Diego Padre is 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA to this point, and he has yielded exactly one earned run in each game thus far. Lockett has picked up at least five Ks in three of those starts, while walking one or fewer in another three outings. Opposing offenses haven’t been able to touch this guy, but he still doesn’t have a huge sample of experience at this level.

Kelly is the ace of the Twins’ rotation, as evidenced by his career 2.88 ERA in the KBO since his arrival in 2019. Kelly is 1-1 this year with a 2.25 ERA, and his record is only that bad because of a lack of run support. Kelly hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any game, but the Twins’ offense hasn’t done him many favors.

The Bears are favored tonight given the quality of their offense compared to that of the Twins, and this is another game in which the under looks like a pretty smart wager (-103). If you’re not sold on those odds, however, I don’t mind backing LG with their ace on the mound as +102 moneyline underdogs, either. For the odds listed at KBO betting sites online, the under is the best way to approach this one.

SSG Landers vs NC Dinos

SSG Landers dropped two of their three games at Doosan over the weekend, while the Dinos did the same at home against Kiwoom. The defending champion Dinos are just 12-13 this year after their dominant campaign last year, while SSG comes into this game at 13-12.

The Dinos are the biggest moneyline favorites on the slate (-250) in a game with an over/under of 9.5 runs. NC is so heavily favored here because ace righty Drew Rucinski will make another start here, while Won-seok Oh goes for Landers.

Rucinski has uncharacteristically allowed eight hits in each of his last two outings, but he was able to keep Samsung off the scoreboard in seven innings last time out. Rucinski has a 2.98 lifetime ERA in the KBO, and last year he went a dominant 19-5 with a 3.05 mark. He’s at 2.17 through five starts this season. As is the case with Straily and the Giants, the Dinos are almost always heavy favorites whenever Rucinski takes the hill.

Oh has a 4.71 ERA in the KBO, but he has only pitched in 16 total games dating back to last year. He’s made two starts this season while pitching in eight games overall with a 4.26 ERA. Oh struck out nine in his last start against KT, but he’ll be in for a significantly more difficult challenge on the road tonight against the Dinos.

NC is an obvious bet here, and the best way to attack this one is via the runline. Bet on the Dinos to cover the runline and win it by at least two runs at -121.

Samsung Lions vs Hanwha Eagles

The Lions are flying high, and they’ll have a good chance to keep it rolling tonight against the underwhelming Hanwha Eagles on the road. Samsung is a slight -128 moneyline road favorite in tonight’s series opener, while Hanwha is at -103 at home.

Ryan Carpenter will face Ben Lively in a matchup between a pair of ex-major leaguers. Carpenter has been one of the rare bright spots for the Eagles’ rotation. The lefty is off to a 1-1 start with a 1.59 ERA through his first five KBO outings, and he has allowed more than one earned run in just one of those five starts. Carpenter has impressively struck out 31 in 28.1 innings of work thus far, as well.

Lively gets the superior on-paper matchup against a weaker Eagles offense, but his body of work at this level hasn’t been quite as impressive. Lively is 0-1 with a 4.94 ERA so far this season, though his 4.26 career mark is still passable enough. Lively does have 17 punchouts in his last two starts combined, and he’s thrown at least 101 pitches in three consecutive games.

I like Hanwha as a solid value bet at home tonight. The Lions have been playing well of late, but Carpenter has quietly been one of the league’s stingiest pitchers early in the season. He should give the Eagles a chance at picking up a win tonight, so take Hanwha’s moneyline betting option at -103.