Henry Roldán
This coming Saturday, Miami’s LoanDepot Park will witness what is likely to be one of the best games of the 2023 World Baseball Classic when the USA vs Venezuela will clash for a spot in the tournament’s semifinals.
The North Americans finished second in Group C tied with Mexico with a 3-1 record, but they lost the direct confrontation against such team. The Venezuelans, on the other hand, finished as undefeated leaders of Group D, defeating rivals on par of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview of the stellar World Baseball Classic’s quarterfinal game between USA vs Venezuela .
Predictions and Betting Preview for the USA vs Venezuela WBC Game on March 18, 2023
Where will the 2023 WBC USA vs Venezuela game be played?
The USA vs Venezuela game for the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic will be played at LoanDepot Park, Miami.
When will the 2023 WBC USA vs Venezuela game be played?
The game will be played next Saturday, March 18 at 7:00 PM E.T.
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Betting on the United States
- WBC 2023 Record: 19-13
- Best position: Champion (2017)
- Runline: (-1.5, +130)
- Moneyline: (-115)
- Over/Under: 9
The United States got through the group stage with some doubts, but the team is on track to defend its crown won in the last World Baseball Classic held in 2017.
After its defeat against Mexico in the second match of the tournament, things seemed to get complicated for Mark de Rosa’s team. However, two victories at the end of the phase, and a combination of other results, gave the USA the pass o the next phase.
This classification was not as convincing as expected of the USA, which makes its continuation in the event to be put in doubt before facing Venezuela, one of the best teams of the championship, so far.
The mighty U.S. offense was only able to fully fuel its power in the match against Canada, when the USA scored 12 runs. In the other three games, the team scored a total of 14, and collectively batted .268.
Of course, this offense, which includes names like Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Nolan Arena, Paul Goldschmidt, and many other superstars, can wake up at any time. In fact, that’s what happened against Canada, but the truth is that in the group stage, everyone except Trout, who hit .417 with a home run, and six towers, was a disappointment.
As for pitching, the team’s biggest doubt in the tournament, the most damage the USA received in the group stage came from Mexico, a team that scored 11 runs. In the other three games, the arms were up to the task, allowing only five runs, and its overall effectiveness ended at 4.24 with four home runs conceded .
For Saturday’s game, De Rosa opted for Lance Lynn, the experienced Chicago White Sox starter who opened the game against Canada. In that game, he earned the victory by working five innings with two hits, one clean run allowed, and six strikeouts.
Starting Pitcher: Lance Lynn (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
Betting on Venezuela
- WBC 2023 Record: 16-12
- Best Position: 3rd place (2009)
- Runline: (+1.5, -150)
- Moneyline: (-105)
- Over/Under: 9
Despite being a baseball powerhouse, no one was betting that Venezuela would finish the first round of Group D undefeated, with the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico alongside it.
However, Omar Lopez’s team showed all their talent by dominating both opponents without any problems, and qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament without much fuss.
Key to this, especially when facing these two powerful offenses, was the work done by the Venezuelan pitching staff, which finished with the second lowest effectiveness of the entire first round with 2.00 in 36 episodes of work, surpassed only by Japan.
In fact, only against Puerto Rico was Venezuela’s pitching not so good, allowing six runs, while in the other three games no offense scored more than one run.
As for its offense, Venezuela took full advantage of extra-bases, and was very effective in bringing runs to the plate with two outs on the board. While the team scored only 23 runs, it gave up nine doubles, hit five home runs, and had an OBP of .370.
What’s more, Venezuela had several offensive leaders such as Salvador Perez, who was chosen the MVP of Group D, batting .500 (10-5), with three doubles, a home run, and five towers. Another outstanding name was Anthony Santander, who hit .467 with two homers, and five RBIs, while Eugenio Suárez averaged .600 with six RBIs.
For the game against the United States, coach Omar Lopez announced this Friday that Martin Perez was going to be his starter. The Texas Rangers’ right-hander dominated the Dominican Republic’s offense in his first start of the tournament. He pitched 3.1 episodes with four hits, one run, one walk, and four strikeouts.
Starting pitcher: Martín Pérez (0-0, 2.70 EFE)
JefeBet Prediction
Two of the world’s baseball powerhouses face off this Saturday in the 2023 World Baseball Classic’s quarterfinals, which promises plenty of excitement.
Although both teams have lineups with major league stars, the importance of the game leads us to believe that it will be a low-run game with pitching as the protagonist.
Venezuela was the second best collective pitching of the first phase, while the United States failed to hit offensively as expected.
On another note, USA relievers are top-notch, and the Venezuelan offense was as sharp as it needed to be in its undefeated run through Group D.
Prediction: Under (USA 4 – VEN 3).
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