KBO Predictions and Analysis – Saturday, October 2, 2021

It has been a dynamic week in South Korean baseball, and we have two more rounds scheduled for the weekend. Saturday will bring us five interesting encounters, and the worst teams in the league will face each other in one of them.

This means that every organization with a shot at the playoffs will face another side that still has everything to play for. That’s a recipe for an exciting round, and I share my thoughts on every single fixture in my KBO predictions for October 2.

Here’s a full list of Saturday’s games.

After winning convincingly against much stronger opponents in the previous round, both sides are entering this clash with extra confidence.

The big question here is who can continue winning, and I’m inclined to go with the Tigers for two main reasons.

The first one is that Kia’s starter is the more established player. Daniel Mengden has been far from perfect this season, but he had some good games. The American should do better than Nam Ji-min, who lacks experience at a senior level.

On top of that, the Kia Tigers have an excellent record against the Hanwha Eagles in 2021. That’s enough for me to pick them in my KBO predictions for Saturday.

KT Wiz Suwon lost three games in a row and against a fairly mediocre opponent like the Lotte Giants. The league leaders have to do something about it, or the gap between them and the chasing pack will quickly disappear.

The good news is that Suwon has the upper hand when it comes to the starting pitchers on Saturday. William Cuevas has been far from perfect, but I still prefer him over Sam Gaviglio.

The leaders have a more prolific offense too, so I believe they can get back to winning ways in the upcoming game.

The Kiwoom Heroes had an excellent opportunity to improve their position in the standings after facing the worst teams in the league. Instead, they drew one game and lost another just before facing some of the strongest opponents in South Korean baseball.

Casey Kelly is expected to pitch, and he won twice against the Heroes this season already.

If you add to that Kiwoom’s inconsistency and LG’s excellent bullpen, that’s enough for me to back the Twins in my KBO predictions for October 2.

There are multiple angles to explore in this one which makes it hard to predict. You could argue that the Lotte Giants should continue their winning run after three victories in a row against KT Wiz Suwon.

Beating the top team in the country is not a joke, especially when it happens three times in two days. The problem is that the busy schedule could lead to fatigue.

On top of that, the Dinos have been decent this week, too, and they are stating the better pitcher. I think Lotte’s run ends here, and I expect a lot of runs by the reigning champions.

I rarely base my KBO predictions purely on the starting pitchers, but this is one of the exceptions. A quick look at the team news shows that Choi Won-joon is about to start for the Doosan Bears.

He can certainly stop this particular opponent, and I’m not sure I can say the same about Choi Chae-heung. Samsung’s starter has been inconsistent this year, and his record shows seven defeats already.

Doosan’s excellent offense should dominate this clash, and I expect a victory for the Bears.