Kia Tigers vs Lotte Giants Prediction, 5/8/2026 KBO Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Kia Tigers vs Lotte Giants

Date: Friday, May 8, 2026

Location: Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, South Korea

TV: MS-T

Odds/Point Spread: Kia (-150) Lotte (+125)

Ho Ryung Kim and the Kia Tigers (15-17, 5th in KBO) travel to Sajik Baseball Stadium on Friday, May 8, 2026, where they'll meet the Lotte Giants (13-18, 8th in KBO). The Giants open this game at +125 while the Tigers are coming in at -150. The over/under has been set at 9.

As a squad, the Kia Tigers are earning 5.0 runs/g, which has them at 4th in the league. They have notched a total of 164 runs scored and hold an OBP of .342. The Tigers have accumulated 60 doubles as a squad and have knocked 36 balls out of the stadium. They have 160 runs batted in in addition to 287 base knocks so far this year, while their batting average comes in at .257. Kia is slugging .408 and have struck out 258 times, while drawing a walk on 134 occasions.

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Ho Ryung Kim is a hitter who can be a difference maker for Kia. For his professional baseball career, Kim has hit 29 balls over the fence while driving in 176 runs. His slugging percentage is .359 and he has accumulated 633 bases. In his time in the Majors, he stepped up to bat 2,008 times and has delivered with a hit 435 times. He has struck out 521 times and has gotten a free base on 156 occasions, contributing to a .320 OBP. Kim is sitting with a batting avereage of .247 for his baseball career, in addition to 300 scored runs and an OPS of .679.

The Tigers have swiped 31 bases and have been caught 9 times, which tells us their caught stealing rate is 22.5%. The Kia Tigers have earned a total of 879 putouts this year, as well as 307 assists and 18 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .985 which is 2nd in KBO and they have turned 27 double plays.

The Tigers are sitting with a team ERA of 4.61 on the year (7th in the league), and the staff has struck out 242 batters. Kia has allowed 286 base hits (8.8 per 9 innings) in addition to 150 earned runs. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.85 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.42. Tigers pitchers have conceded 33 home runs and 160 runs in total (5th in baseball).

The Giants hold a slugging % of .367 and they have an average of 3.75 runs per contest (9th in KBO). They have recorded 52 two-baggers, while taking a walk 94 times as well as racking up 120 runs. Lotte has accumulated 23 home runs this season as well as 112 runs batted in. They have struck out on 248 instances (4th in KBO) and have notched a total of 283 base hits. The Lotte Giants have an on-base percentage of .314 as well as a team batting average of .253 this year.

Victor Reyes is a hitter who should impact this game for Lotte. Reyes has recorded a walk 416 times while striking out on 1,054 occasions. He is sitting with 807 runs in addition to having 797 RBIs. His on-base percentage comes in at .347 and he also has a career OPS of .770. He has gone deep 101 times, as well as 2,450 total bases and also a .423 slugging percentage. For the 5,787 at-bats in his career, Reyes is sitting with a batting avereage of .300 in addition to 1,734 base hits.

The Lotte Giants have turned 22 double plays and have a fielding rate of .983 (3rd in the league). Out of their 33 attempts at getting a steal, they have had success 23 times and been caught 10 times (30.3% caught stealing rate). The Giants have 311 assists, 20 errors and have 856 putouts so far this year.

The Lotte pitching staff have allowed 150 runs so far this season while holding a team ERA of 4.26 (135 earned runs relinquished). They have given up 24 homers and they surrender 4.73 runs per 9 innings (4th in the league). The Giants hold a team WHIP of 1.431 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.73 as a squad for the year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.96 (268 strikeouts vs 137 bases on balls). They rank 9th in the league as a staff in total hits surrendered with 271.

Who will win tonight's KBO game ATS?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Lotte (+125)

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