With their 11-2 win over the Doosan Bears (28-20) on Tuesday, the Kiwoom Heroes (31-18) finished up a scalding 19-6 (.760) June, putting them 2.5 games behind the NC Dinos (32-15) for the KBO lead.

The Heroes (+68 run differential this season) had the best Pythagorean record (91-52) in the KBO in 2019 — with the only scoring margin greater than +200 — and they are closing in on the Dinos (+72) for the lead in both categories again this season.

The Heroes have gotten nothing out of their foreign position player spot this season — a substantial deficit relative to the rest of the league, whose imports have generated a .920 OPS (.304/.380/.540) with nine players recording 18% (82 of 454) of the KBO’s total home runs.

Aaron Altherr (career 89 wRC+ in MLB) is slashing .295/.368/.596 (.964 OPS) with 12 homers and eight steals for the Dinos this season.

The recently signed Addison Russell offers a similarly versatile skillset — albeit as an infielder — but his addition to the lineup, which will come around mid-July, could be enough to put the Heroes and their dominant bullpen over the top.

Hanwha Eagles vs. KIA Tigers
Eagles moneyline: +200
Tigers moneyline: -265
Over/under: 9.5
Time: 5:30 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN

Probable Pitchers: Hanwha Eagles (Shi-hwan Jang) vs. KIA Tigers (Ki-young Im)

The Hanwha Eagles (12-36) continue their march for KBO history — pacing for a record 100-loss season — while the KIA Tigers (24-21) currently have a slight advantage over the Samsung Lions (25-24) and Lotte Giants (23-23) in the KBO’s wild card spot.

Tuesday’s contest between these clubs was rained out, so Shi-hwan Jang (5.18 FIP) will face Ki-young Im (3.31 FIP) on Wednesday.

FIP or Fielding Independent Pitching measures what a pitcher’s ERA would look like if the pitcher experienced league-average defense and luck.

wRC+ or Weighted Runs Created Plus takes the statistic Runs Created and adjusts that number to account for critical external factors — like ballpark or era. It’s adjusted, so a wRC+ of 100 is league average, and 150 would be 50 percent above league average.

Twenty-seven-year-old Ki-young Im has been a big surprise in that regard. He posted a 5.00 FIP over 12 appearances (eight starts) in 2019, but he appears to be regaining his 2017 command, where he recorded a 4.06 strikeout-to-walk (K/BB) ratio with 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) and a 4.04 FIP (4.98 league average).

Shi-hwan Jang, has a similar issue, posting a 4.2 BB/9 in 27 starts last season for the Lotte Giants while recording a 4.30 FIP.

After working out of the bullpen for most of his career, Jang transitioned to the rotation and proved to be relatively effective, although slightly below average.

Eagles starter Shi-hwan Jang has seen his strikeout rate (11.0 K/9) return to pre-2019 levels of greater than one batter per inning, after declining to 7.8 K/9 last season. He struggles with his command (career 1.63 K/BB) and has a walk rate greater than 4.0 BB/9 over his career, but he can often respond with a strikeout when he needs one

Tigers @ Heroes
Hanwha Eagles (12-36):
SHJang is 0-0, 2.70 in his last two starts, 1-1, 6.84 in five road starts.
Teams’ record in his starts: 1-7 Team in first 5 innings: 1-5-2
Allowed run in first inning: 3-8 Totals: over 6-2

— Hanwha lost nine of its last 12 games.
— Eagles lost 12 of their last 14 road games.
— Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
— Eagles are 4-12 in series openers, 2-6 on road.

Kia Tigers (24-21):
KYIm is 3-1, 1.88 in his last four starts, 3-1, 3.86 at home.
Teams’ record in his starts: 4-4 Team in first 5 innings: 5-3
Allowed run in first inning: 3-8 Totals: under 5-0-1 last six

— Tigers lost four of their last five games.
— Kia won seven of its last eight home games.
— Over is 7-2-1 in last 10 Tiger home games.
— Tigers are 10-6 in series openers, 4-3 at home.

Wiz @ Twins
KT Wiz (21-27):
JSBae is 1-1, 5.56 in his last four starts, 2-0, 3.86 in four road starts.
Teams’ record in his starts: 4-5 Team in first 5 innings: 4-3-2
Allowed run in first inning: 3-9 Totals: under 5-3-1

— Wiz won three of their last five games.
— Wiz won five of their last seven road games.
— Over is 3-2 in their last five games.
— Wiz are 5-6 in 2nd game of a series if they lost opener, 3-3 on road.

LG Twins (28-20)
WCCha is 2-1, 4.15 in his last five starts, 2-3, 6.62 in seven home starts.
Teams’ record in his starts: 4-5 Team in first 5 innings: 5-3-1
Allowed run in first inning: 3-9 Totals: over 6-3

— Twins lost seven of their last ten games.
— Twins lost seven of their last nine home games.
— Under is 7-2 in Twins’ last nine games.
— Twins are 5-4 in 2nd game of a series if they won opener, 2-3 at home.

Giants @ Dinos
Lotte Giants (23-23)
WSJang allowed five runs in three IP (58 PT) in his one start, on May 12.
Teams’ record in his starts: 0-1 Team in first 5 innings: 0-1
Allowed run in first inning: 1-1 Totals: over 1-0

— Giants lost six of their last ten games- they used 11 pitchers in their extra inning win last night.
— Lotte lost four of its last six road games.
— Under is 4-2 in Giants’ last five road games.
— Lotte is 4-3 in 2nd game of a series if they won opener, 1-1 on road.

NC Dinos (32-15)
CMKoo is 6-0, 1.68 in nine starts, 3-0, 1.24 in four home starts.
Teams’ record in his starts: 6-3 Team in first 5 innings: 5-2-2
Allowed run in first inning: 2-9 Totals: under 6-3

— NC won seven of its last 11 games.
— Dinos won three of last five home games.
— Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
— Dinos are 2-3 in 2nd game of a series if they lost opener, 1-2 at home.

Bears @ Heroes:
Doosan Bears (28-20):
YHLee is 0-2, 10.80 in his last three starts, 1-1, 5.53 in five home starts.
Teams’ record in his starts: 4-5 Team in first 5 innings: 3-5-1
Allowed run in first inning: 4-9 Totals: under 5-4

— Bears lost four of their last five games.
— Doosan won five of its last seven road games.
— Over is 7-4 in Bears’ last 11 games.
— Doosan is 6-4 in 2nd game of a series if they won opener, 3-4 on road.

Kiwoom Heroes (31-18):
HHHan is 1-1, 2.96 in his last four starts, 1-1, 5.55 in four home outings.
Teams’ record in his starts: 6-3 Team in first 5 innings: 4-3-2
Allowed run in first inning: 3-9 Totals: over 5-4

— Heroes won 11 of their last 12 games.
— Kiwoom won 12 of its last 17 home games.
— Under is 8-4-1 in last 13 Kiwoom home games.
— Kiwoom is 8-3 in 2nd game of a series if they won opener, 4-2 at home.

Wyverns @ Lions:
SK Wyverns (14-34):
SWMoon is 2-2, 1.39 in his last five starts, 1-1, 5.19 in five road outings.
Teams’ record in his starts: 2-7 Team in first 5 innings: 3-5-1
Allowed run in first inning: 1-9 Totals: under 6-2-1

— Wyverns lost 11 of their last 13 games.
— SK lost eight of its last nine road games.
— Wyverns’ bullpen is 3-13 this season.
— Under is 10-4-1 in Wyverns’ last 15 games.
— SK is 2-9 in 2nd game of a series if they lost opener, 1-4 on road.

Samsung Lions (25-24):
Buchanan is 1-1, 6.62 in his last three starts, 3-3, 6.21 at home.
Teams’ record in his starts: 5-4 Team in first 5 innings: 5-3-1
Allowed run in first inning: 2-9 Totals: over 6-3

— Lions won six of their last eight games.
— Samsung is 7-3 in its last ten home games.
— Over is 3-2 in Lions’ last five home games.
— Lions are 6-1 in 2nd game of a series if they won opener, 3-1 at home.

Umpires:
Wiz-Twins: No information on this umpire.
Giants-Dinos: Under is 4-1 in last five HDWoo games.
Bears-Heroes: Underdogs won last three DGMoon games.
Wyverns-Lions: Over is 6-0-1 in last seven GNNa games.