KBO Predictions and Analysis – Thursday, October 22, 2020

It’s time for another round of postponed games from the top South Korea baseball league on Thursday. The fixtures could have a huge impact on the KBO Championship fight because they are likely to determine the seeds for the playoffs.

The NC Dinos are safe at the top, but the next four teams could still lose or gain positions by the end of the regular season. That’s why almost every day includes exciting games and Thursday is not an exception.

I share my KBO predictions for October 22 and there’s a short analysis of every encounter. You won’t find any odds or betting picks, though, because the leading baseball bookmakers online are yet to release their lines.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the games that are part of my KBO predictions for Thursday.                                                   

The Lotte Giants proved my point that there is no motivation whatsoever left in the team on Wednesday. The squad was destroyed by the Wyverns and looked toothless in the process. It’s hard to expect anything else by a team that has nothing to play by the end of the season.

I don’t believe that the second clash will be that one-sided, though, as the Giants certainly felt the humiliating 11-3 defeat. I expect a closer encounter on Thursday, but I still prefer the SK Wyverns who are trying much harder nowadays.

The second clash of the day features the Tigers and the Eagles. This one is really hard to predict because both teams have no goals by the end of the season. Hanwha will finish last no matter what, while KIA’s playoffs ambitions were buried in the fall.

And yet, the Tigers are still the better side and they have punished struggling pitchers all season long. That’s the main weakness of the Eagles who have lost the last six games in a row and are simply waiting for the season to end.

That’s enough for me to back the Tigers in my KBO predictions for Thursday, but I recommend you to be careful with this one.

After a scary period in September and the beginning of October, the Doosan Bears recovered and are now looking to climb the KBO rankings. The reigning champions have won seven of the last ten games and their offense has been firing recently.

I believe they enter the clash against the struggling KT Wiz as favorites. Suwon just had an exhausting encounter against the Samsung Lions and has looked below par in October. The team is losing steam fast and another defeat at the hands of the Bears makes the most sense.