Eight nations remain in the World Baseball Classic, and all teams will travel to the United States for the quarterfinal round on Friday and Saturday.
Rounding out the action, Venezuela will take on defending champion Japan at Miami’s loanDepot Park on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
Japan — listed as the home team — enters as a -180 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Venezuela sits as a +145 underdog.
Venezuela — bolstered by former MVP Ronald Acuna and a scorching-hot Luis Arraez — went 3-1 in Pool D, its only loss coming against the dominant Dominican Republic.
Japan, headlined by global superstar Shohei Ohtani, cruised through Pool C on its quest to capture back-to-back WBC championships.
The marquee showdown features perhaps the most electric pitching duel we’ve seen at this year’s tournament: Former Phillies (and current Red Sox) southpaw Ranger Suarez will go head-to-head with reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The winner would face either Puerto Rico or Italy in Monday’s semifinal in Miami.
