Free KBO Predictions: Korean Baseball Best Bets for June 18

Hanwha Eagles vs. Lotte Giants: Over 9.5 (-115)

The Hanwha Eagles and Lotte Giants meet for the second of three matchups this week. The Eagles ousted the Giants with a brilliant pitching performance from Ryan Weiss on Tuesday. Weiss lasted eight innings with three hits conceded to propel the Eagles to a big road victory.

Don’t expect the same effort from Wednesday’s starter Um Sang-back in this contest. Um heads to the mound with a 5.59 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 11 games and 48.1 frames. The 28-year-old hurler has struggled to get on track since last season.

He posted a 4.88 ERA in 31 appearances after a couple of strong seasons. Um’s arm just looks tired as his velocity is down in 2025. Expect the Giants to get the best of Um in today’s matchup. Note that the Giants are first in the KBO, with a .284 team batting average and third in RBIs.

전준우 2점 홈런

정우영: "잠실을 밀어서 넘기는 타자! 전준우 4번 타자입니다!" pic.twitter.com/4aURy0e2uR

— d. (@mybbst21) June 7, 2025

However, I don’t know if their starting pitcher is going to help them out much. The Giants are promoting Hong Min-ki to the rotation after a couple of solid appearances out of the bullpen. That said, Hong was only on the bump for two innings and yielded two hits and a walk. Last year, he finished with a 12.27 ERA and 2.45 WHIP in two showings, one as a starter.

In his rookie campaign, Hong was overmatched with a 27.00 ERA and 6.00 WHIP. It’s hard to trust Hong right now, as I’m not confident he’s ready to go four or five innings as a starter. The bullpen should see a workout against the Eagles. In short, consider backing the over 9.5 runs for your best KBO picks today!

KT Wiz vs. KIA Tigers: KT (-155)

The KT Wiz and KIA Tigers clash at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field following a big 10-3 blowout in favor of the Tigers yesterday. I expect different results from this ball game on Wednesday, though.

The Wiz are scheduled to assign So Hyeong-jun to the mound to open this matchup. With an ERA of 3.01 and a 5-2 record, So has been one of the most reliable pitchers in the Wiz’s rotation. He’s following up on a strong 2024 campaign, where So recorded a 3.24 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.

KT's So Hyeong-jun pitched 7 scoreless innings, giving up 6 hits, while striking out 5 as the Wiz beat Kiwoom 2-0 https://t.co/EglYOCorAZ

— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 25, 2025

Additionally, So has been in top form versus the Tigers, as he went six innings with no runs and a 1.00 WHIP on May 31. On the heels of his worst performance of the season after conceding six runs to the Giants, expect So to bounce back on Wednesday!

Yoon Young-cheol is expected to receive the start for the Tigers. He’s aiming to show improvement from a 5.14 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 35 innings this season. The 21-year-old has been hit-and-miss in two outings versus the Wiz. The Wiz have taken Yoon for four earned runs in 9.1 innings of work this season.

For our KBO predictions today, I’m backing the Wiz to get it done outright on the moneyline.