SSG Landers vs KT Wiz KBO Betting Odds and Pick for April 4th

MY PICK

KT WIZ

The new KBO season rolls on Tuesday with a standard five-game slate. It’s early, but the standings already look interesting. Three of the 10 teams in the league are still undefeated after the first weekend’s worth of games. SSG Landers, the Doosan Bears, and the LG Twins have yet to taste defeat through the first two games of the year.

Of course, it won’t take long for those unbeaten streaks to come to a close. SSG will put their perfect start on the line when they head to Suwon for a date with the reigning Korean Series champion KT Wiz on Tuesday.

SSG picked up a couple of impressive victories over the NC Dinos over the weekend, holding the once-dominant NC offense to just one total run in those games.

KT, meanwhile, is off to a 1-1 start after splitting their opening series with the Samsung Lions. The Wiz picked up a 4-1 victory on opening day before suffering a 6-5 defeat in the series finale.

KBO betting sites have the Wiz listed as slight favorites to get the better of SSG when the two teams square off to begin a new series tonight.

The oddsmakers over at BetOnline have KT listed as -145 moneyline favorites, while SSG sit at +125 to win this one.

This KBO game also comes with an over/under of eight runs, which is the lowest total of the five games on tonight’s docket.

SSG Landers

Newcomer and former big leaguer Ivan Nova will take the ball for SSG Landers in this one.

The 35-year-old last pitched in the majors with the Detroit Tigers in 2020. In just four appearances that year, all starts, he went 1-1 with a bloated 8.53 ERA.

For his career, Nova has a record of 90-77 with a more respectable 4.38 ERA. The right-hander was a mainstay in the New York Yankees’ rotation from 2010 to 2016 before he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent two-plus seasons in Pittsburgh before a move to the Chicago White Sox in 2019.

Nova signed with the Phillies prior to last season, but failed to make the squad out of spring training. The veteran subsequently inked a deal to join the Rockies’ organization, but never earned a promotion into the big leagues. Last December, he agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million to join SSG’s rotation.

Of course, there’s no telling what Nova has left in the tank at this stage of his career. He pitched quite poorly the last time we saw him in the majors with Detroit in 2020, but those were vastly different circumstances.

Needless to say, the competition in the KBO isn’t quite as stiff as it is in the majors. The KBO is still regarded as one of the best leagues in the world, but there is reason to believe Nova will be able to find some success here.

If Nova shows signs of life in Korea, there’s a strong chance he can earn another look from prospective MLB clubs again next winter.

KT Wiz

Another MLB veteran, Odrisamer Despaigne, will get the ball for the Wiz in this one. While Despaigne found limited success at a few different stops around the majors, he has become one of KT’s most reliable starters over the past couple of seasons.

After going 15-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 2020, his first year in the KBO, Despaigne enjoyed a breakout campaign last year. The right-hander finished 13-10 with a 3.39 ERA and helped the Wiz win the Korean Series for the first time in team history. He was able to parlay that excellent season into a new one-year, $1.35 million deal to remain with the Wiz last December.

Despite starting a team-high 33 games for the Wiz last year, Despaigne didn’t face SSG in 2021. However, he went 2-1 across three starts against this team in 2020 when they were still known as the SK Wyverns.

Despaigne will have his work cut out for him against an SSG lineup that should be much improved in 2022. Former Diamondbacks farmhand Kevin Cron, the younger brother of Rockies first baseman CJ Cron, has three hits through his first nine trips to the plate in his first season with SSG. The Landers are also headlined offensively by the legendary Shin-Soo Choo, who is in his second season back in his native country after a stellar MLB career.

SSG Landers vs. KT Wiz KBO Game Pick

Both teams will have plenty of experience on the mound in this one with a pair of 35-year-olds set to go toe-to-toe.

Please Note:

Despaigne has proven to be a useful addition to the Wiz’s rotation over the past couple of years. Nova, however, is a total wild card. We only saw him pitch briefly in the majors in 2020, and there’s no telling how his skills will translate to the KBO level at this deep stage of his career.

The Wiz didn’t do much losing with Despaigne on the mound last year. While he could show signs of decline in 2022, I don’t have quite as much faith in Nova to find success in his first trip through the KBO. Side with KT to win this one at home at their current -145 moneyline odds.

Pick:

KT Wiz

-145

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