Kia Tigers vs Samsung Lions Prediction, 5/17/2023 KBO Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Kia Tigers vs Samsung Lions

Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Location: Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea

TV: MBC Sports+

Socrates Brito and the Kia Tigers (14-17, 7th in KBO) head to Daegu Samsung Lions Park on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, where they'll meet the Samsung Lions (15-18, 6th in KBO).

As a squad, the Kia Tigers are scoring 3.9 runs per game, which has them at 9th in baseball. They have accumulated 122 runs and have an OBP of .327. The Tigers have earned 34 two-baggers as a unit and have smacked 15 balls out of the park. They have 109 runs batted in as well as 267 base knocks this season, and their average at the plate is sitting at .255. Kia has a slugging rate of .334 and have been called out on strikes 240 times, while getting the free base on 107 occasions.

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Socrates Brito is a batter who should be able to impact this game for Kia. Brito has an average at the plate of .304 for his career in baseball, with 93 runs scored and an OPS of .819. He has fanned 108 times and has taken a walk on 46 at-bats, which has contributed to a .350 on-base percentage. In his career, Brito has hit 19 baseballs over the fence while driving in 93 runs. He has recorded a slugging percentage of .469 in addition to earning 298 bases. In his time spent in pro baseball, he came to bat 692 times and also came through with a base knock 193 times.

The Kia Tigers have 823 putouts on the year, as well as 280 assists and 22 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .980 which has them sitting 4th in the league and have accumulated 34 double plays. The Tigers have swiped 24 bases and have been caught 9 times, which means their caught stealing rate is 27.3%.

The Tigers are sitting with a team ERA of 3.78 for the year (6th in KBO), and their staff has rung up 230 batters. Tigers pitchers have conceded 18 home runs in addition to 128 runs in total (10th in the league). Kia has relinquished 255 hits (8.4 per 9 innings) in addition to 115 earned runs. They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 1.64 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.44.

The Samsung Lions have tallied an OBP of .321 in addition to a team batting average of .247 on the season. They have been rung up on 226 occasions (7th in the league) and have accounted for 276 base knocks. Samsung has accounted for 24 home runs for the season in addition to 140 runs batted in. The Lions have a team slugging percentage of .358 and they have an average of 4.36 runs per outing (5th in baseball). They have 46 doubles, while taking a walk 109 times and putting up 144 runs.

Jose Pirela is a hitter you are going to want to keep your eye on for Samsung. For the 7,873 at-bats in his professional career, Pirela has hit .286 with 2,250 base hits. He has hit a home run 202 times, as well as 3,435 total bases and also a .436 slugging %. Pirela has drawn a free base 706 times while going down on strikes on 1,265 tries. He has tallied 1,253 runs in addition to having earned 1,025 runs batted in. His on-base percentage comes in at .350 and he also has a lifetime OPS of .786.

The Samsung Lions have turned 22 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .988 (1st in Korean baseball). The Lions have racked up 313 assists, 14 errors and have 889 putouts on the season. Out of their 22 chances at stealing a base, they have made it 14 times and been caught 8 times (36.4% caught stealing percentage).

The Lions hold a team WHIP of 1.408 and have a FIP of 4.74 as a squad so far this season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.03 (236 strikeouts against 116 walks). They are sitting at 4th in KBO as a staff in total hits conceded with 301. They have surrendered 25 dingers and they give up 4.74 runs per 9 innings (9th in the league). The Samsung pitching staff have allowed 156 runs on the campaign while having a team ERA of 4.53 (149 earned runs conceded).

Who will win tonight's KBO game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kia

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