Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers for World Baseball Classic

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is officially underway, and there is a huge slate of games throughout the day on Friday.

Things start at 5 a.m. EST (7 p.m. local time) with Japan facing off against Chinese Taipei.

Chinese Taipei played in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday night, getting shut out as favorites against Australia.

Japan will have reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound in its opening game.

Here are the odds, probable pitchers, and predictions for Japan vs. Chinese Taipei on Friday morning.

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Odds & Run Line

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Moneyline

Japan -900
Chinese Taipei +550

Run Line

Japan -4.5 (-105)
Chinese Taipei +4.5 (-115)

Total

7.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Probable Pitchers

Japan: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Chinese Taipei: Hao-Chun Cheng

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei How to Watch

Date: Friday, March 6
Time: 5:00 a.m. ET
Venue: Tokyo Dome
How to Watch (TV): FS1, FOX Deportes

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Prediction and Pick

Japan is understandably a huge favorite with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, so the question becomes either how do you back them on the run line or total, or if Chinese Taipei can shake off its opening loss to pull off a major upset.

Unfortunately, this +550 moneyline price for Chinese Taipei simply isn’t long enough for me to back them in this one. They mustered just three hits, all singles, while striking out nine times against Australia.

With the total at just 7.5, it is tempting to take the OVER. Japan scored 38 runs in its four pool play games in 2023, with seven or more scored in each contest. The Japanese also easily covered a -4.5 spread in those four games as well, though, and Chinese Taipei just lost by three to the Australians.

Chinese Taipei is better than they showed in that one, though, scoring 26 runs in its four games in 2023. I’ll go with the OVER rather than risking the run line.

Pick: OVER 7.5 (-115)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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