The Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic matchup is likely the biggest game in the tournament to date and should give baseball fans everywhere some high-quality action before the MLB regular season begins next month. Venezuela has already punched its ticket to the next round in Pool D, making for a win-or-go-home elimination game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. With bettors looking for action in the intriguing WBC tilt, let’s take a look at the Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic odds and best bet.
Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic Betting Odds & Prediction
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Dominican Republic as the heavy favorite to beat Puerto Rico and move past Pool D. They are a heavy -375 moneyline favorite, with Puerto Rico at +285. The run line is set at Dominican Republic -2.5 (-114).
It is easy to see why the Dominican Republic would come in as such a high favorite. They entered the World Baseball Classic as the slight betting favorites to win the tournament, boasting a star-studded roster consisting of Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Sandy Alcantara, Rafael Devers, etc… But Puerto Rico are no slouches, either, which was evident when they combined for an eight-inning perfect game in the 10-0 win over Israel on Monday afternoon.
The Dominican Republic will have the edge in a pitching department, handing the ball to 37-year-old right-hander Johnny Cueto in the do-or-die WBC game. Cueto, a member of the Miami Marlins, enjoyed a career resurgence as a member of the Chicago White Sox in 2022. Showing his reliability down the stretch, Cueto had a 3.35 ERA in 158.1 innings with a banged-up White Sox team last season.
Puerto Rico will counter with 23-year-old Dominic Hamel to try to limit the damage from the potent Dominican Republic lineup. Hamel, a member of the New York Mets organization, spent last season split between the single-A and high-A for New York. He combined to go 10-3 with an impressive 3.25 ERA in over 100 innings pitched.
The Puerto Rico side will hope MLB stars such as Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez and Eddie Rosario can help ease the pressure on Hamel and make life easier on manager Yadier Molina by getting to Cueto early in the game and giving them a chance to advance to the next stage.
While nobody would question which side has the better matchup on paper in the Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico matchup, it’s hard to imagine a team as talented as Puerto Rico won’t show some fight in the elimination game, especially coming off their best performance of the tournament against Israel.
Simply put: 2.5 runs are too much to give a strong Puerto Rico team in a win-or-go-home scenario. Look for them to keep this one close with their World Baseball Classic fate hanging in the balance, making the spread a valuable wager.
Best Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic Bet: Puerto Rico +2.5 (-106 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
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