The 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) begins semifinal play with Team USA and the Dominican Republic meeting on Sunday at loanDepot Park in Miami. First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed or streamed on FS1. Let’s build our bankroll with our best World Baseball Classic picks & predictions for Sunday, March 15th.
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Sunday’s Best World Baseball Classic Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
United States (-134) vs. Dominican Republic (+112) | O/U 8.5 (-140/+114)
The United States and the Dominican Republic square off in Miami with a trip to the World Baseball Classic championship game on the line. No disrespect to Italy or Venezuela, but this feels like the championship game.
Both teams entered the tournament as the countries with the two shortest odds to win the title, and the other side of the bracket is a bit of a Cinderella story. Team USA is chock-full of MLB All-Star players, but so is the offense for the Dominican Republic. The offense for the Dominican Republic is unbelievable from top to bottom. The only question is if it has the pitching to topple the American machine.
We saw Team USA take its eye off the prize in pool play, faltering against upstart Italy, and nearly failing to advance to the quarterfinals. It actually needed Italy to upset Mexico, and the Espresso Boys obliged to help America move on. Team USA took advantage of the situation, toppling Canada 5-3 in the quarters.
The United States fired out to a 5-0 lead against Canada through the top of the sixth, but a three-run bottom of the sixth inning made things hairy. It also made things concerning for under (9.5) bettors, but the bullpens ended up tossing up donuts in the final three frames, much to the dismay of hopeful bettors holding over tickets.
Only Brice Turang (.467/.500/.733) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (.357/.438/.857) were able to cobble together multi-hit efforts, and that came from the eight-nine options in the lineup. See, Brewers and Cubs can work together for good. If not for Turang and Crow-Armstrong, things might be completely different for this United States team. Those two have been heroes in this tournament.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic paddled Korea 10-0, as Cristopher Sanchez twirled five scoreless frames with two hits, a walk and eight strikeouts, throwing 43 of his 63 pitches for strikes. Albert Abreu worked two perfect innings of relief, striking out three of the six batters he faced, while throwing dots. He had 17 strikes on 24 pitches, including three first-pitch strikes.
Fernando Tatis drove in two runs. Vladimir Guerrero and Junior Caminero hit doubles, with two runs and an RBI each. Austin Wells delivered a three-run homer. Manny Machado had a multi-hit game. That offense is amazing from top to bottom.
As such, I am going with the Dominicans for the mild upset in Miami. This offense is so good that Oneil Cruz is coming off the bench. Luis Severino is a strong option for the Dominican Republic, although he is certainly no Paul Skenes, who will take the ball for the Americans.
As long as the Dominican Republic can weather the Skenes storm and get to the bullpen, it should end well. We’ll also go low on the total. And, with that pitching matchup of Severino and Skenes, runs early will be at a premium, so hammer the first innings under, especially at plus-money odds.
Picks: Dominican Republic +1.5 (-150), Under 8.5 Runs (+114) & First 5 Innings Under 4.5 Runs (+106)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe