Italy and Japan face off on Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup of the World Baseball Classic at the Tokyo Dome.
Italy Betting Preview
Heading into the World Baseball Classic, there weren’t any expectations surrounding this team, but their 2-2 record in the group play was enough for them to secure the victory. In the last game of pool play, Italy faced off against the Netherlands, and they had their best game so far. The offense was good, scoring seven runs, but even more impressive was the defense giving up only one run. Matt Harvey had a strong game, pitching, going four innings, giving up two hits and one run. Sal Frelick had a strong game, finishing with three hits, two RBIs, and one run. In this game if they want a chance they are going to need the pitching to be good, or it’s going to be a very long game,
Japan Betting Preview
On the other side of this matchup is Japan, and many believe they are the team that will take home this title. Japan comes into this game with a 4-0 record overall, and their last game was a dominant win on Sunday. Japan scored seven runs against Australia, and that was enough to win by six runs. Shohei Ohtani has been the star of the team and in the last game, he finished with one hit, one run, and four RBIs. Japan’s offense is loaded with power, but this is also a very strong pitching staff, and if they are going to win this tournament, it’s going to need to be the pitching that is strong.
Shane’s Free Pick
It’s a nice story that Italy made it to the knockout round, but this is going to be the end of the road for them. This Japan offense is so talented, and it’s not just Ohtani that has been excellent. Japan is going to score at least ten runs here. Italy is also going to have issues against the Japan pitching staff, and that is going to be the difference here. This game is going to be a blowout. Back Japan -5.5 to cash here.