Israel vs. USA
July 30, 2021 6:00 am EDT
USA and Israel face-off early on Thursday Morning in an Olympic baseball showdown at Azuma Stadium in Fukushima. This is the second game for Israel while the USA is playing their first game.
The United States is at a bit of a disadvantage with their roster construction because any player on a 40 man MLB roster isn’t allowed to play in this tournament, but this is still a talented team. The best offensive player looks to be Todd Frazier who was a standout during his MLB career. Pitcher Scott Kazmir also looks like a player who is going to be leaned on heavily in this tournament. This roster is a good mix of former MLB players, and some young intriguing prospects. Getting the start for the USA in this game will be Joe Ryan who has had 12 appearances so far this season in the minor leagues and he currently sits with an ERA of 3.63 in 57 innings pitched. In this game, the USA needs to get good pitching and try to take some pressure off the offense.
On the other side of this matchup is Israel who has already played one game in the Olympics so far. Israel was able to force extra innings in the first game against South Korea, but they gave up a run in the 10th inning, and that led to the defeat. Ian Kinsler has been a strong player for Israel and he hit a home run and drove in two runs. Ryan Cole Lavarnway also had a big game finishing with two hits, two runs, and three RBI’s.
I expect there is going to be plenty of scoring by both teams and that will lead to a shootout. There isn’t great value on either side in terms of the money line, but the over is going to cash with ease.
