KT Wiz at Doosan Bears preview

SEOUL (Interstat) — The KT Wiz visit the Doosan Bears on Thursday evening at Jamsil Stadium, with first pitch scheduled under a forecast of rain and 73 degrees.

KT (28-20-1) enters the game tied for second place in the KBO standings, while Doosan (23-26-1) sits in seventh. The Bears won the series opener 5-0 on Wednesday, evening the three-game set after the Wiz took Tuesday’s game 6-0.

The Wiz will rely on reliever Jeon Yong-ju, who threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday’s loss but has been inconsistent recently. Over his last five appearances, Jeon has allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, including a rough outing May 21 at Samsung when he surrendered three runs on four hits without recording a second out.

Doosan counters with left-hander Wes Benjamin, who has been dominant in his past two starts. Benjamin (2-3) pitched seven scoreless innings in Wednesday’s win over KT, allowing two hits with five strikeouts. In his previous outing May 21 against NC, Benjamin threw eight scoreless innings, scattering five hits with one strikeout.

The head-to-head series is split 2-2 this season, with four of those five games decided by multiple runs. The lone exception was Doosan’s 8-7 win in 11 innings on April 10.

KT’s bats have been quiet, scoring one run in its last 13 innings after being shut out Wednesday. Doosan’s offense was sparked by designated hitter Daz Cameron, who homered and drove in two runs in the win.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 4-3 final in favor of KT, with the ELO system giving the Wiz a 52.7 percent probability of victory.

Both teams will be looking to build momentum. KT travels to Kiwoom for a weekend series starting Friday, while Doosan heads to Samsung.

The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. local time.