Can the Samsung Lions get back on the winning train when they face the bottom feeders Hanwha Eagles? The Lions will get pitcher Chae-heung Choi back in the lineup, after sitting out for two weeks with an injury. Look for Samsung to flex their guns on Hanwha, who are 5-16 on the road. Samsung Lions F5 -0.5 -135
Here we are, now into week eight of the KBO season. Tonight Hanwha will start a three game set against Samsung. Hanwha are the laughing stock of the KBO this season, losing a record breaking 18 straight games. The team demoted half of their starting lineup, starting with half of their starting five, to the majority of the starting nine including their manager. Since the debacle back in late May/ early June, Hanwha are slowly starting to bring back their pitching rotation. Tonight Hanwha will lean on import pitcher Christopher Bell.
Bell will look for his first win of the season, after he was in quarantine for 2 weeks. In his four games back in the KBO, Bell has been all over the place. His 2020 numbers are: 0-3, 8.44 ERA, 2.11 WHIP, 0.344 opponent batting average. Bell’s best start was his first back on May 26th, where he lasted only three innings, not allowing a run. Since his season opener, Bell is struggling to go deep into games, allowing over 6 hits, in less than 5 innings. His strikeout-walk ratio is awful, Bell will rarely if not ever have more strikeouts than he does walks. His average runs allowed in June is six, while his hit count per game totals eight per game. In Bell’s one start on the road he lasted 3.6 innings, giving up four runs on 5 hits, striking out one and walking five. That was against SK, the weakest hitting team in the league, how do you expect Hanwha to last against a Samsung team that is returning back to 100% health.
Samsung have been a middle of the pack squad all season long, losing 2 of their top pitchers to injury for over a month, Samsung had terrific production from guys stepping up in their spot. Samsung has one of the best bullpen WHIP’s in the league, not just that, in June Samsung have seen 60% of their games go under the total. They average 0.253 at the plate, with an OPS of 0.728. Typical Samsung sitting middle of the pack, now with a three game set, expect Samsung to crush Hanwha in all three games.
Chae-heung Choi will return back to the starting rotation. He is 3rd in the rotation with a 3-2 record, 4.41 ERA, and 1.41 WHIP. Choi was on fire to start the year, going 3-0, allowing less than 4 hits a game. Choi was rolling until he played NC, he was touched for nine hits in 4 innings. He played one more game in early June, in which he lost to SK. Not looking like himself, Choi was sent to the 10 day DL. Now back fresh ready to fire, he gets the perfect team to get right again. Choi is 2-1 at home, with a 3.60 ERA, 0.241 opponent batting average, and a 1.40 WHIP. You could say give Choi a game to get right, but look at what he did in his first start. It was against Kia where he won 5-0 giving up one hit in five innings.
When we look at second half production for both teams, Samsung has the advantage in both hitting and bullpen. The Lions are second in the KBO when looking at bullpen WHIP at 1.24 in June. Hanwha is not the worst when looking at bullpen WHIP, they sit sixth, with a 1.49 bullpen WHIP. Hitting on the other hand is at the bottom of the KBO, for both clubs. Samsung averaged 1.67 runs in the second half of games in June, where Hanwha are actually slightly better with 1.78 runs scored.
I’m not exactly sure what the second half on the game will detail. What we do know is there’s a huge advantage when it comes to starting pitching. This will suprizling be the first time all year the Eagles and Lions have played each other. With no previous stats to go off of, Samsung’s current form and Health of the team will surpass, and elevate us to another KBO winner. Let’s cash tonights ticket with the Samsung Lions F5 -0.5 -135. Best of Luck.
Article Record: (11-11)
Tonight’s KBO Best Bet: Samsung Lions F5 -0.5 -135
