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World Baseball Classic Best Bets Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (3/9)

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The World Baseball Classic began on Tuesday, March 7, between Cuba and the Netherlands. We won’t have to wait too long for the United States to play. They’ll debut on Saturday, March 11. Depending on the game, the WBC games can be found on FS1, FS2, or TUBI. Right now, there are only games in Pool A and Pool B. The other pools, again, start on Saturday.

There will be two games tonight and two games in the morning. I’ve been watching these games and have a couple of best bets in mind that I’ll share below.

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Thursday:

View 5-star bets and historical prop performance by players with our Prop Bet Analyzer >>

Today’s Best WBC Bets

(Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook)
All wagers are 1 unit

Cuba vs. Panama

Cuba began its tournament with a 4-2 loss to the Netherlands. And they struggled to score against Italy. But the lineup still looks good.

Cuba has Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, and Yoenis Cespedes in the middle of the lineup. That’s lethal. But Cespedes doesn’t have a hit in two games. Moncada and Robert have also combined for just one hit between the two.

The offense is struggling.

But Cuba’s pitching has responded well for the most part despite the offense not helping much at all. The bullpen blew this morning’s game in the 10th inning. Expect more of that tonight. They’ll take on a Panama group that scored 12 against Chinese Taipei.

Panama’s offense has some big leaguers, including Ruben Tejada, Christian Bethancourt, and Jonathan Arauz. Those three are hitting in the middle of the lineup for Panama, and each had solid days at the plate in their debut. In the second game against the Netherlands, Panama scored just one run.

However, the pitching still allowed Chinese Taipei to add five runs but gave up just three against the Netherlands. Seven of 10 pitchers from Panama allowed at least one run so far.

Cuba should return on track offensively. That should help the Over.

Bet: Over 8 (-115)

Czech Republic vs. China

Japan blitzed China, 8-1, in their opening game. But that was expected. They had to face Shohei Ohtani. In this game, they’ll face Daniel Padysak. He pitched at Charleston Southern and had a 4,93 ERA while allowing close to six runs per nine innings.

His walks were high in college, and he allowed ten hits per nine innings. China’s got a well-rounded roster of good hitters. They should be able to do damage against Padysak and the Czech Republic pitching.

Czech Republic doesn’t have any significant big leaguers either. Eric Sogard is on the roster along with Vojtech Mensik, who has spent time with the Angels in the big league club, along with a couple of others.

But ultimately, China’s got much more talent than Czech Republic and should be able to get on track with a win tonight.

Bet: China (-110) 

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