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The World Baseball Classic has moved into the semifinals, and the first game takes place tonight as Cuba will take on the United States. It was a thrilling win for the United States on Saturday night as they hit a grand slam in the 8th inning to propel them to a 9-7 victory over Venezuela and into the semis. Cuba has not played since Wednesday, but has had to travel from Tokyo to get to Miami. Here is my World Baseball Classic best bet for Sunday.
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Cuba vs United States predictions World Baseball Classic 2023: Cuba team total over 3.5 (+105)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
It was a grueling quarterfinal game that lasted nearly 4 hours on Saturday night, but the United States came out on top thanks to Trea Turner’s heroics. That means they have a quick turnaround, as the United States will play again tonight against Cuba. These teams are just a win away from reaching the championship game, and the United States will turn to the most veteran player on their roster. The 41-year-old Adam Wainwright has been given the nod for Sunday’s game in this must-win situation.
In his first appearance in the World Baseball Classic, Wainwright allowed 1 run and 5 hits in 4 innings against a young and inexperienced Great Britain team. But this Cuban lineup is vastly different than Great Britain’s, as Cuba has a .311 team batting average and a .825 OPS through 5 games. The Cubans won Pool A and then beat Australia in the quarterfinals, with their offense leading the wayt. It wasn’t always like that though, since the Cuban lineup started very slowly, scoring just 5 runs in their first 2 games of the tournament. But since those games, Cuba has scored 13, 7 and 4 runs in the next 3 matchups.
The top of the Cuban lineup has been mashing in the World Baseball Classic. The first 5 hitters have a .364 combined batting average, and some of the names you might recognize are White Sox teammates Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. I’m confident that Cuba can scratch a few runs against Wainwright since the scouting report has become easier on the veteran since he has got older. His 12-6 curveball will be on full display, and he will mix that with a sinker that doesn’t sink too much. Wainwright will likely go only 4 innings at the most, which will put some pressure on a bullpen that just had to use 6 pitchers in high-stress situations last night. Cuba has scored at least 4 runs in 3 consecutive games and has a great chance of doing it again against Wainwright.
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