wbcgeneric.jpg
Imagn Images

The 2026 World Baseball Classic gets going on Wednesday, March 4 with Chinese Taipei taking on Australia in Pool C. Chinese Taipei is the -250 favorite (wager $250 to win $100) on the money line at BetMGM while Australia is the +200 underdog (wager $100 to win $200). Before locking in your picks for this opening game of the World Baseball Classic, be sure to check out what SportsLine MLB expert Angelo Magliocca is locking in for this game.

Bet on the World Baseball Classic at BetMGM, where new users get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if their qualifying wager loses with promo code CBSSPORTS:

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 Chinese Taipei vs. Australia on Wednesday:

Chinese Taipei vs. Australia best bets

  • Australia money line (+200): 0.5 units
  • Australia +2.5 runs (-115): 0.5 units

First pitch of the World Baseball Classic is tonight at 10pm ET, as Chinese Taipei and Australia kick things off in the Tokyo Dome. Chinese Taipei, coming off their Premier12 tournament win, will send Jo-Hsi Hsu to the mound and they have to feel good about their chances to take an early lead behind him. Hsu dominated in the CPBL over the last four years, pitching to a 2.42 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 300+ innings, with just a 5% walk rate and near 30% strikeout rate. His pitch mix is MLB-worthy, with a fastball that can get into the high 90s, and multiple quality offspeed and breaking pitches, something that should be tough for the Australian hitters. Those results are a stark contrast to Alex Wells, the starter for Australia, who had a cup of coffee in MLB with the Orioles in 2022 and didn't fare well in the higher levels of action in America, aside from a 3.29 ERA over 10 starts in Triple-A back in 2021.

With the first round of action being a 65-pitch limit for starters, these early games will almost always come down to how well the bullpens can perform so while I give a major edge to Chinese Taipei here in the first five innings thanks to Hsu on the mound, anything can happen as the game moves past the starting pitchers. That being said, getting 2-1 odds here on Australia's money line is showing value and with a severe lack of betting options for this game, I like taking the underdog in what I believe should be a closer matchup than the market is predicting.

Australia certainly lacks an edge in the pitching department but they do have multiple arms in their bullpen that have pro experience pitching in the KBO, and the Korean league is no slouch with solid hitters these arms have faced over the years. That experience and the tendency of Australia to use relievers in short stints should help keep their pitching fresh and able to compete against this Chinese Taipei lineup.

Lastly, being in a pool with Japan puts this game into the spotlight because these two teams will likely be battling for the second spot in the pool, along with Korea. That should give this game, along with Korea vs Chinese Taipei and Korea vs Australia, more energy with each team knowing it must win to keep pace for the final qualifying spot. In a game I could see being closer than expected thanks to the added motivation for these teams, I'm going to split my one unit bet between the money line and the run line.