2026 World Baseball Classic Preview for Games on Friday, March 6, 2026

By Frank Ammirante | Mar 05, 2026, 10:32pm

It’s time for Day 3 of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Friday, March 6th. For the first time in this tournament, we’ve got a jam-packed slate. This includes Japan vs. Chinese Taipei (5 a.m. ET), Cuba vs. Panama (11 a.m. ET), Netherlands vs. Venezuela (12 p.m. ET), Mexico vs. Great Britain (1 p.m. ET), Puerto Rico vs. Colombia (6 p.m. ET), Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic (7 p.m. ET), and USA vs. Brazil (8 p.m. ET).

It’s going to be interesting to see if there are any upsets, but the more likely outcome is that we’ll get to watch the juggernauts like Japan, USA, and the Dominican Republic put on a show. Venezuela is an intriguing dark horse, featuring an impressive lineup, so I’ll be watching them closely against the Netherlands. As for Cuba vs. Panama and Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, these are likely the two closest games on the slate.

On this page, we’ll take dive into the full World Baseball Classic slate on Mar. 6. You’ll find a game preview for each of these matchups, along with best bets at the end of the page. Visit us daily as we’ll get you set each day of the World Baseball Classic with recaps, look aheads, and much more!

2026 World Baseball Classic Betting Resources

Friday’s WBC Schedule

Japan , vs. Chinese Taipei – 5 a.m. ET (FS1)
Cuba , vs. Panama – 11 a.m. ET (FS1)
Netherlands vs. Venezuela , – 12 p.m. ET (FS1)
Mexico , vs. Great Britain – 1 p.m. ET (FS1)
Puerto Rico , vs. Colombia – 6 p.m. ET (FS1)
Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic , – 7 p.m. ET (FS1)
USA , vs. Brazil – 8 p.m. ET (FS1)

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Preview

The defending WBC champions make their debut in this tournament, with Japan taking on Chinese Taipei. Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the mound for Japan in front of the home crowd in the Tokyo Dome. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already stated that Yamamoto will be going three innings for Japan.

Chinese Taipei is in a tough spot after its surprising loss against Australia in the opener. There’s a good chance that this one could turn into a blowout, especially with Yamamoto starting for Japan.

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei Game Odds

Cuba vs. Panama Preview

Cuba sends out Livan Moinelo, who pitches for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan. Moinelo put up an impressive 1.46 ERA in 167 innings this past season. The Cubans will need Yoan Moncada to step up, as Luis Robert Jr. has stated that he refuses to play for Cuba until all Cuban players (even if they live outside of Cuba) can suit up for the team. For example, Yordan Alvarez isn’t on the team, either.

On the other side, Panama counters with Cleveland Guardians’ lefty Logan Allen (his mother is from Panama). This is a game where I can see an upset, especially since Cuba is missing a lot of their talent.

Cuba vs. Panama Game Odds

Netherlands vs. Venezuela Preview

Netherlands is starting Antwone Kelly, who is an intriguing prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, putting up a 3.02 ERA in 107.1 innings across all minor league levels last season. This is a team that has an underrated lineup, including Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, and Ceddanne Rafaela. We shouldn’t take this team lightly.

Venezuela is rolling with Ranger Suarez, who is no stranger to big moments, having pitched in the postseason for the Phillies on several occasions. This is a stacked lineup, including Ronald Acuña Jr., William Contreras, Jackson Chourio, Wilyer Abreu, and Maikel Garcia. I’m picking Venezuela to go deep in this tournament. They’ll look to get their tournament off to a strong start against Netherlands.

Netherlands vs. Venezuela Game Odds

Mexico vs. Great Britain Preview

Mexico is sending out Chicago Cubs righty Javier Assad against Great Britain, who are one of the weakest teams in the tournament. There are a few big leaguers on Mexico outside of Assad, including Randy Arozarena, Jarren Duran, and Alejandro Kirk. We’re likely to see a lopsided victory in this one.

Even though Jazz Chisholm Jr. has spoken about how the Brits are looking to shock the world, I don’t see that happening. They’re going to need Jazz to absolutely carry this team to even keep games within reach. However, it’s worth noting that when these teams met in the 2023 WBC, Mexico only won 2-1.

Mexico vs. Great Britain Game Odds

Puerto Rico vs. Colombia Preview

Puerto Rico is rolling with Kansas City Royals veteran Seth Lugo in front of a home crowd in San Juan, taking on Colombia, who is also going with an experienced big leaguer in Jose Quintana. Despite playing without Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, the home-field advantage is likely to play a major role for Puerto Rico here.

The home side is expected to win comfortably here. With Lindor and Correa out, big leaguers like Nolan Arenado, Heliot Ramos, and Willi Castro will need to step up.

Puerto Rico vs. Colombia Game Odds

Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic Preview

Nicaragua is led by New York Mets slugger Mark Vientos, sending out righty Ronald Medrano for this matchup. Medrano put up a 4.20 ERA in 60 innings in the Mexican Pacific Winter League this season.

He’s likely to have a tough time against the Dominican Republic, who have an absolute murderer’s row of a lineup, including Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and much more. They’re rolling with NL Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sanchez in this one. It could be a blowout win for the Dominican Republic.

Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic Game Odds

USA vs. Brazil Preview

USA is looking to avenge its loss to Japan in the 2023 WBC, sending out Logan Webb to take on Brazil. This is projected to be one of the most lopsided matchups of the entire tournament.

In the 2023 WBC, USA had a 12-1 win over Canada. We could see something similar in this one. I’m betting that we see the mercy rule (10-run lead after seven or 15-run lead after five) come into effect here.

USA vs. Brazil Game Odds

Netherlands vs. Venezuela Betting Pick

I’m choosing one game on this slate to lock in on. I’ve landed on Netherlands vs. Venezuela.

Netherlands has an underrated team with a lot of good bats, highlighted by Albies and Rafaela. We’ve seen this group pour on runs in exhibition games against MLB teams, including an 11-8 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and an 8-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

I know that I said that I like Venezuela as a dark horse, but this run line feels a bit too high at -3.5, especially with Pirates’ prospect Kelly on the mound for Netherlands. Kelly put up an impressive 27.2% strikeout rate across the minor leagues last season.

With that in mind, we’ll take Netherlands +3.5, as this feels like too high of a number given the talent on this team.

Best Bet: Netherlands RL to win 1 unit

2026 World Baseball Classic Betting Tracker

Record: 0-1
Units: -2.1

2026 World Baseball Classic Betting Results

Moneyline (Favorite-Underdog): 1-1
Run Line (Favorite-Underdog): 1-1
Run Total (Over-Under): 1-1

Wednesday, Mar. 4

Chinese Taipei 0 vs. Australia 3 (+2.5) – Under

Thursday, Mar. 5

Czechia 4 vs. South Korea 11 (-6.5) – Over

Frank Ammirante

Frank Ammirante has been creating sports betting and fantasy sports content for 5+ years, specializing in baseball and football, but also writing about basketball, hockey, and soccer. He has also written online casino, sweepstakes casino, prediction markets, and news articles while working as a content editor as well. You may have seen his work at The Game Day, RotoBaller, FantasyPros, Deadspin, Casino.org, and much more. Frank started out in the fantasy sports space and has competed in popular industry events like Tout Wars. His work has recently been published in this year's Fantasy Index fantasy baseball magazine. As an avid Blue Jays fan, Frank is still mourning their World Series loss to the Dodgers, calling it "one of the biggest collapses in sports history."