KBO Predictions (Round 117) – Thursday, September 17, 2020

I must admit that the previous KBO round surprised me and most of my predictions didn’t land. It feels like the competition has entered a stage in which everything is possible. Even the worst South Korea baseball teams are dangerous nowadays, while the favorites have been far from consistent.

That makes every fixture exciting for the neutrals, though, and leaves the door opening to hitting some huge betting odds. My KBO predictions for Thursday could help you with that, as I share my thoughts on all games for the upcoming round.

There are no prices or recommended bets included because the lines of the top KBO betting sites are not yet available.

With that in mind, here’s the list of all fixtures that are part of my KBO Predictions for September 17.

The Kiwoom Heroes lost two important games in a row against the Lotte Giants and they certainly will be eager to bounce back immediately. The next series is versus the worst team in the KBO, so that’s an excellent opportunity to get back on track to the top spot in the league.

The Heroes are expected to start one of their decent pitchers, while the Eagles will rely on a guy who already lost 13 games this season. If you add the difference in the offensive potential of both sides, there’s little doubt that Kiwoom is the favorite on Thursday.

Both teams have been decent in the KBO lately and the series should be close. The Lions managed to beat some of the best baseball teams in South Korea over the past two weeks, but also lost versus opponents from the bottom of the table.

The Tigers were mostly solid and yet, they just had a tough encounter against the SK Wyverns that was lost in the last inning. The Lions should be more confident as a result and they are starting the slightly better pitcher. This is enough for me to back Samsung on Thursday.

The opening clash between the Giants and the Twins is one of the harder games to predict on Thursday, at least on the surface. Both sides are starting decent pitchers based on the stats in 2020 as a whole, but Lotte’s choice has been much better in the past month or so.

On top of that, the Giants just beat the Kiwoom Heroes twice and they will be full of confidence, while the Twins have lost their rhythm recently.

It might be close but Lotte has more arguments for this one and I prefer to back the Giants in my KBO predictions for Thursday.

The NC Dinos registered a vital win over the Doosan Bears on Wednesday that helped them keep the top spot in the KBO standings. Two more victories in the upcoming series against the Wyverns could provide some breathing room and I’m sure that the league leaders can earn them.

They will be starting Drew Rucinski in the opener on Wednesday and he has 14 victories this season already. I don’t think that SK can beat the Dinos with him at the helm and that should be an easy win for the best team in the league.

Both the Doosan Bears and KT Wiz Suwon had a tough series at the start of this week, exchanging wins against the NC Dinos and Samsung Lions, respectively. Both sides are fighting for a spot in the KBO playoffs, so the next two games might be vital for their chances.

I’m more inclined to back KT Wiz in the opener because the team is expected to pick the better starting pitcher. William Cuevas has been solid since the start of the season and he’s certainly more reliable than Hui Kwan Yu who has a 6.43 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP over the past 30 days.