WEEKEND PICKS

BASEBALL

Korea Baseball Organization

Lotte Giants at SK Wyverns

6:30 p.m. Friday, Incheon Munhak Baseball Stadium

The Lotte Giants hope to extend their lead in third place in the KBO by defeating the SK Wyverns today. After the Giants’ come-from-behind victory against the Hanwha Eagles 11-8 on Tuesday, with Lee Dae-ho’s three run home run, the Giants have once again beaten the NC Dinos out of third place by half a game.

Lee will once again lead the Giants’ batting lineup today, with a 0.325 batting average, 34 home runs and 111 RBIs. Looking at the two’s seasonal head-to-head record, the Giants lead with eight wins and seven losses.

Nexen Heroes at NC Dinos

5:00 p.m. Friday, Masan Baseball Stadium

While the Lotte Giants are trying to hold their spot in third, the NC Dinos will play a two-game series against the Nexen Heroes hoping to overtake the Giants once again over the weekend, starting today.

The Dinos are dominant when it comes to the two’s head-to-head record for the season, at ten wins and four losses. However, starting in September, the Dinos’ batting has gotten a lot worse. In the bullpen, which was considered the best in the KBO this season, there has been a definite slump. The batters are the Dinos’ only hope of taking back third place and, luckily, during their game against the Samsung Lions on Wednesday the team had 16 hits to win the game 11-1.

Na Sung-bum is likely to lead the Dinos’ batting lineup, hitting three home runs in the six recent games. Along with Na, Xavier Scruggs will also lead the line-up as the Dinos’ fourth batter, as he also managed to hit a total of eight home runs in September.

With only three games remaining until the end of the regular season, the Dinos desperately need their batters to continue to dominate at the plate, as it is their last hope of avoiding the wildcard game.