Preview: Kiwoom Heroes at Doosan Bears

SEOUL (Interstat) — Two teams seeking momentum in the early KBO season will meet Tuesday evening when the Doosan Bears host the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. local time under cloudy skies with a game-time temperature near 53 degrees Fahrenheit (12 Celsius).

Both clubs enter with identical 2-6 records, though they arrive on different trajectories. The Bears (2-5) are coming off a dominant 8-0 shutout of the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday. Doosan will look to ride the arm of left-hander Zach Logue, its projected starter. Logue was brilliant in his last outing, tossing six scoreless innings with six strikeouts in that victory. In his previous start, a no-decision against Samsung on March 31, he allowed two earned runs over seven innings.

The Heroes (2-6), meanwhile, are looking to rebound from a tough 6-5 walk-off loss to the LG Twins on Sunday. Kiwoom has dropped four of its last five games. A bright spot in the recent defeat was pinch-hitter Lee Hyung-jong, who launched a grand slam. Lee, a player to watch for Kiwoom, is 1 for his last 8 but has driven in four runs on his lone hit over that span.

Statistical models favor the home side. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 3-1 Doosan victory, while its ELO rating system gives the Bears a 62.1% probability to win. Doosan has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5 runs. The over/under for total runs is set at 8.5.

This game opens a brief two-game series between the teams. They will meet again at Jamsil on Wednesday and Thursday before each embarks on a new series this weekend.