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The World Baseball Classic is one of the best displays of national pride in all of baseball, and there won't be any shortage of passion on display when the Dominican Republic takes on Venezuela in Miami on Wednesday. Though both teams have already secured spots in the knockout round, Wednesday's game is sure to be played at a fever pitch as two of the sport's most avid fan bases watch these two heavyweight squads slug it out in what should be one of the best games of the tournament. Moreover, the loser will be matched with Japan in the first round of the knockouts -- a fate both teams will want to avoid.

First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET. Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara gets the ball for the Dominican Republic, while Eduardo Rodriguez will start for Venezuela. Before making wagers on Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, you need to know what SportsLine baseball expert Angelo Magliocca is betting for this contest.

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Magliocca, also known as "Amags" is a hugely profitable MLB capper who uses his deep knowledge of baseball to find value on player props, sides and totals. He is coming off another strong season at SportsLine. Over the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 MLB seasons, Amags is up 133.4 units on straight bets and parlays while winning an additional 25.3 units on ladder plays. 

Here's a look at his best bets and analysis for Dominican Repiblic vs. Venezuela on Wednesday:

Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela best bets

The Dominican Republic has looked the best so far of all the teams in this tournament, having scored double-digit runs in each of their three games, with their pitchers allowing just five total runs. In my opinion they bring the best bullpen of any ball club to the WBC, and they've proven that so far by allowing zero runs over 14.2 innings. With a whole host of high level MLB relievers waiting in the wings, I believe that will be the difference maker in the end between these two teams. Venezuela's pitching has been great in its own right, allowing just five runs through three games as well, but the DR bullpen is far deeper with higher level talent, and so is its lineup. 

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The DR has scored runs in bunches so far, with 12 more runs than Venezuela in the first three games, and I don't see that stopping in the matchup that will bring the most energy of them all. Venezuela does feature some great hitters in Ronald Acuna Jr., Eugenio Suarez and Luis Arraez, so I think this will be a battle, but they'll need to score off Alcantara to make things much easier for themselves as this game gets into the later innings. I usually want to stick with F3 or F5 bets in this tournament with starting pitchers being shaky and having a pitch count, but I think the DR's depth in the lineup and in the bullpen is the thing to target here and that brings me to a full game spread bet. With the way the DR offense has looked, I'm betting that the Dominican offense will be at minimum a couple of runs better than Venezuela, and that their bullpen arms are able to shorten the game significantly against the Venezuelan offense.

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A lot will be made of player prop bets on the DR side, but Acuna Jr. has four hits in 10 WBC at-bats with four walks, and I would not be surprised if he were to be walked intentionally at some point in tonight's game because of how great he can be. The Braves center fielder is the clear best player for team Venezuela but there are some pieces around him to help drive him home if he gets on base, so I like going with the hits + runs + rbi prop here tonight, although total bases is in play as well. If Venezuela is going to win, Acuna Jr. will need to be part of the offensive output, so look for him to have some incredibly professional at bats throughout the night and we have to be happy about betting on that at least. The former MLB MVP also brings some momentum into this game, having gone 3-3 with a home run and two RBI in Venezuela's win against Nicaragua a couple nights ago. I also have interest in the 3+ and 4+ levels of this prop on Acuna Jr., both at plus odds, and the home run prop at +400 or better.