Venezuela vs. Japan Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers for World Baseball Classic Quarterfinal

Team Japan comes to North America with one thing on their mind: repeating as World Baseball Classic champions.

After breezing through pool play with a run differential of 34-9 and a perfect 4-0 record, Japan is now three wins away from another WBC championship.

Venezuela stands in their way in the quarterfinal on Saturday night. The Venezuelans won their first three games with a run differential of 21-5 before falling 7-5 to the Dominican Republic in their final pool play matchup.

Whoever wins this game will advance to the semifinal to face off against the winner of the Puerto Rico vs. Italy matchup.

Here are the odds, probable pitchers, and predictions for Venezuela vs. Japan on Saturday night.

Venezuela vs. Japan Odds & Run Line

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Moneyline

Venezuela +145
Japan -180

Run Line

Venezuela +1.5 (-150)
Japan -1.5 (+120)

Total

7.5 (Over -120/Under -105)

Venezuela vs. Japan Probable Pitchers

Venezuela: Ranger Suarez (2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
Japan: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K)

Venezuela vs. Japan How to Watch

Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: loanDepot park – Miami, FL
How to Watch (TV): FOX

Venezuela vs. Japan Prediction and Pick

This is a great pitching matchup on Saturday night.

Suarez has flown under the radar in recent years, going 12-8 in each of the last two seasons with ERAs of 3.46 and 3.20 in Philadelphia. Of course, everyone knows about Yamamoto’s accolades, posting a 2.49 ERA in the regular season before dominating last year’s playoffs.

While that makes me want to take the UNDER in this one, a total of 7.5 does give me some pause. Both sides are among the top six teams in OPS this tournament, with Japan at .987 and Venezuela at .809.

Japan has a lineup built for a tournament like this with Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki, and Masataka Yoshida all slugging two home runs thus far.

Venezuela has a few big bats of its own, including Luis Arraez, who is tied for the tournament lead with seven hits, two of which have been home runs.

All things considered, though, Japan is still a notch or two above Venezuela in my mind. I’m a bit surprised that Japan isn’t a bigger favorite, so I’ll play it safe with the moneyline, although -1.5 (+120) isn’t a bad play either.

Pick: Japan moneyline (-180)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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