LG Twins vs Doosan Bears
LG Twins +114 over Doosan Bears

Pinnacle +114 BET365 +110 SportsInteraction +106 5DIMES +105 888Sport +112

Posted at 7:15 PM EST

1:00 AM EST. Both teams share the same stadium and the games are very well attended and very loud. While Doosan has had more success in recent years, tickets to this rivalry are always hard to get, no matter the teams’ place in the standings. This is the league’s most heated rivalry. This is the KBO’s version of Yanks/Red Sox. 

The Doosan Bears went a league best 88-55-1 last year and also were the champs, which is the main reason they’re the chalk here. Managed by Tae-hyoung Kim, the Bears lost reigning KBO MVP Josh Lindblom to the Brewers but they return 2018 MVP outfielder Jae-Hwan Kim. A solid all around squad, the Bears will likely be contending again but this opponent is just as good. 

This offseason, the Twins went after pitchers like they always do. Stacking up aces isn’t just the Nationals way; it’s also the LG Twins way, and it led them to a tidy 79-64 record last year. Going for the Twins here is Cha Woo-Chan.  Cha is the Francisco Liriano of Korea, if not in stuff then in lack of consistency. As likely to lead the league in ERA as to bring up the rear, the LG Twins has gotten the better end of the deal in recent years. The 12-6 curve is everywhere in the KBO, so it’s notable that Cha goes against the grain with a pair of sweeping, slurvy breaking balls. The curve in particular moves like a madman and it’s just not a look that hitters get all that often in this league. As the breakers go, so goes Cha. At age 32, Woo-Chan posted a 4.10/4.12 ERA/xERA last year with 124 K’s in 168 innings over 28 starts. 

Raul Alcantara is a MLB reject with just 13 games of MLB experience to his name with nine of those being as a starter for the A’s. A big 6’4”, 220 pounds right-hander from the Dominican Republic, Alcantara is more of a control artist than the power pitcher his frame would suggest. Tommy John surgery would sideline him for all of 2014 and he wasn’t allowed to use his slider upon returning in 2015 but he could never crack the rotation out of spring for the A’s before signing in Korea for the WT Wiz in 2019 where he appeared in 32 games, 10 of those as a starter. Like the A’s, the Wiz didn’t know whether to use him as a starter or reliever. 

Alcantara was tagged for 100 base hits in 83 frames last season while averaging just 5.4 K’s/9. He throws consistent strikes, though he can sometimes live in the fat part of the plate. Alcantara has an outstanding change-up that exhibits fading action and is a true weapon against left-handed pitching but he’s always at the mercy of BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) and his defense. In this opener, we’re not going to trust the Bears pitching staff to outduel the Twins league best staff.

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Our Pick

LG Twins +114 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.28)

San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110