Matthew Lowrimore
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Our experts at Pickswise select their best Korean Baseball picks for Thursday to help you find the best value. Whether you’re looking for a single money line pick or a KBO parlay, we have you covered. Please gamble responsibly when following our Korean Baseball predictions and picks. Note that all of these games start at 2:00 am ET and 5:30am ET on Thursday morning.
KBO betting odds
Here are the KBO betting odds for Thursday, August 26 courtesy of FanDuel sportsbook.
- Doosan Bears (-104) vs NC Dinos (-116), O/U 9.5 (G1)
- Doosan Bears (-104) vs NC Dinos (-116), O/U 9.5 (G2)
- Samsung Lions (-154) vs LG Twins (+126), O/U 7.5
- Hanwha Eagles (+182) vs Kiwoom Heroes (-225), O/U 8.5
- Lotte Giants vs Kia Tigers (No odds)
- SSG Landers (+128) vs KT Wiz (-156), O/U 9.5
KBO picks and predictions
Thursday’s 6-game slate features some lopsided matchups that offer value. Let’s dive into the day’s best bets.
Doosan Bears vs NC Dinos – Under 9.5 runs (-138)
Given this elite looking pitching matchup, the total looks to be the better play. The Bears are coming off a game in which they scored 11 runs, but Drew Rucinski is too good of a pitcher to allow them to score anywhere close to that number. Rucinski has been solid against the Bears, too, allowing 2 runs over 6.0 innings in his 1 start against them. Ariel Miranda has had similar success against the Dinos, allowing 9 runs over 21.0 innings in his 3 starts. He has been getting progressively better against the Dinos, allowing 2 runs in his most recent start against them while managing to go 8.0 innings. With both pitchers tough to score on and the Dinos having not played for three days in a row now, backing the under in this game looks to be the best play in what should be a pitchers’ duel.
SSG Landers vs KT Wiz – Over 9.5 runs (-116)
Despite the lack of experience from Um Sang-Back, the over looks to be a better play in this game. Starting with Lee Tae-Yang, he has not been good against the KT Wiz. It is a very small sample size of 2.1 innings, but over that stretch he has allowed 3 earned runs. Those were all relief appearances as well, suggesting his struggles could be prolonged over several innings this time around. Plus, Sang-Back has allowed at least two runs in his first couple of starts, which also suggests he could get knocked around a bit here too. The KT Wiz offense did very well on Wednesday and should have similar success here against a shaky pitcher. For that reason, the over looks like the play.
Samsung Lions ML (-154) vs LG Twins
Wednesday’s game ended in a 3-3 tie, so the Samsung Lions did not make up any ground in the race for first place in the league. Now sitting 3.0 games behind the KT Wiz, they will start David Buchanan in Thursday’s game. Buchanan has been one of the best pitchers for the Lions this season–not only the Lions, but also in the KBO as a whole. He has a record of 10-3 and a fantastic ERA of 2.61.
The LG Twins also did not make up any ground in the league standings after the tie on Wednesday. They still sit 3.5 games behind the KT Wiz for first place and just 0.5 games behind Samsung for second. The Twins will start Im Chan Kyu, who is only 1-4 on the season. His ERA is a concerning 4.80, so it is safe to say he is not having the best season so far.
The Samsung Lions have a clear pitching advantage with Buchanan, so they are the side to look at in this game. The Lions have won 4 of their last 5 games, with the only one not resulting in a win being that tie on Wednesday. The price to back Buchanan is reasonable here, so backing the Lions to win will be the top play.
For those of you looking for bigger payouts, play the best bets as a 3-team parlay which pays out at +429.
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