Team USA might be a clear-cut favorite heading into Tuesday night’s World Baseball Classic final, but bettors appear to be finding more value in the underdog.
Key Takeaways
- Venezuela is getting the majority of the handle to beat Team USA at FanDuel, BetMGM, and theScore Bet.
- The total has been bet over at two sportsbooks but under at another.
- Aaron Judge and Ronald Acuna Jr. are popular picks to hit home runs on Tuesday night.
Venezuela, with over 2-to-1 odds to win the game, is getting the majority of dollars wagered at three major sportsbooks. FanDuel told Covers that 61% of the handle and 78% of the moneyline bets are on the Latin American squad.
BetMGM, which opened the moneyline at -285 and has shortened the USA to -275, has seen 59% of the tickets come in on the favorite. However, 52% of the money is backing Venezuela. With odds of -270, theScore Bet reported that 65% of the bets are on the USA, with Venezuela getting 55.6% of the handle at +220.
BetMGM also reported that 80% of the 1.5-runline handle and 71% of the wagers are on the U.S. team.
.@WBCBaseball Final betting at @BetMGM@USABaseball open -285, now -275
— John Ewing (@johnewing) March 17, 2026
▪️ 59% of bets, 48% of money on 🇺🇸
Venezuela open +230, now +220
▪️ 41% of bets, 52% of money on 🇻🇪
Total open 8.5, no movement
▪️ 60% of bets, 74% of money on Over
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There’s a split on the total of 8.5. BetMGM and FanDuel have both seen over 70% of the money back come in on the over. However, nearly 60% of theScore Bet customers are taking the under.
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Going deep
Bettors are also in unison when it comes to home run player props. USA’s Aaron Judge, with odds around +220, is the most popular bet to go deep at FanDuel, BetMGM, and theScore Bet.
Teammate Kyle Schwarber, with similar odds, is second at all three. Roman Anthony (+425 at theScore Bet) and Bryce Harper (+375 at BetMGM) are also seeing action in this market.
For Venezuela, Ronald Acuna Jr. (+450) is the third most-bet player to hit a home run at BetMGM.
Future impacts
Team USA surged from plus odds to -110 favorites right before the WBC began. After losing in a massive upset to Italy in pool play, it looked like the large percentage of money on the Americans was staying with the sportsbooks. However, Italy beat Mexico to push the U.S. through to the quarterfinals.
The Americans won a tight, controversial 2-1 battle over a super talented Dominican Republic team on Sunday to advance to Tuesday. That kept 48.5% of the bets and 48.7% of the handle in the WBC winner market alive at theScore Bet. The U.S. received more than double the money of any other team in that futures market, with the Dominican Republic second at 19.9% of the handle.
Venezuela, meanwhile, took just 4.3% of the wagers and 4.9% of the money to win the WBC at theScore Bet.
