WBC Bad Blood matchup – Japan vs. Korea

Japan and Korea will meet for the fourth time in the 2009 World Baseball Classic betting tonight at 9 PM ET to conclude play in the second round.

Korea has won two of the three (2-14, 1-0, 4-1) meetings thanks to brilliant outings of pitcher Jung Keun Bong, who silenced almost every Japanese batter with ease.

Both teams already have their sights on the semifinals next weekend and probably will use tonight’s matchup to get some work in for players who haven’t played much the past few weeks.

Tetsuya Utsumi will take the hill for Team Nippon and will square off against Wonsam Jang in a duel between two southpaws.

The winner will play Team USA on Sunday while the loser gets to face Venezuela on Saturday.

WBC Odds

Japan -1½ -110

Korea +1½ -130

Over 7 -110

Under 7 -110

Analysis: I’ll keep this pick direct and right to the point by saying that I fully expect Japan to win although Korea has already proven to be Japan’s equal if not more. The fact of the matter is that this game means a lot more to Japan than it does to Korea right now.

Take the powerful Japanese team to win and cover the spread.

WBC Free Pick: Japan 4 Korea 2