After Team USA toyed around with Great Britain in the opener, don't expect Canada to play with its food as it looks to open the World Baseball Classic on the right foot. Read on for our Canada vs. Great Britain picks for the WBC 2023.
Great Britain competed more valiantly than many expected in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the United States, but signs of weakness at various positions throughout the roster were noticeable.
Against a Canadian team making its debut in the 2023 WBC, will Great Britain's competitiveness take a hit upon the quick turnaround Sunday afternoon?
Here is our best Canada vs. Great Britain WBC pick (odds via BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Canada vs. Great Britain pick: WBC 2023
Team Canada has fresher legs heading into Sunday afternoon than the squad from Great Britain that fell in its opener to the United States on Saturday night. But even if these teams were coming into Sunday's game on even footing in terms of rest, I would favor a Canadian group that simply has more Major League-caliber talent than its brethren across the pond.
Any semblance of velocity, like what Team USA closer David Bednar provided in the final inning of Saturday's game, seemed to overwhelm Great Britain. With an average fastball velocity of 94 mph in 2022, Canada's starting pitcher Cal Quantrill isn't a hard thrower by any stretch of the imagination. But relative to the mid-80s velocity Adam Wainwright was serving up against the British lineup in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the United States, Quantrill will be an adjustment for Great Britain to begin the game.
Pitching is the biggest advantage a team can have in this event, and Quantrill's 3.38 ER A in MLB last season is more impressive than anything Great Britain can throw out there. Great Britain started Vance Worley in its first game of the tournament, and his last big-league action came in 2017.
Offensively, Canada will rely upon sluggers Freddie Freeman and Tyler O'Neill to make an impact as the two most notable big-leaguers in the lineup. Great Britain leaned on Trayce Thompson to provide a spark against Team USA, but it's not realistic to expect the English lineup to keep pace with the horsepower boasted by Canada on both sides of the ball.
Canada vs. Great Britain best odds
| BetMGM | Caesars |
|---|---|
| Canada -3.5 | Canada -3.5 |
| -125 | -130 |
As of this writing, only BetMGM and Caesars have a run-line option available across our best MLB betting sites. Both books list Canada at -3.5, with BetMGM offering the more favorable odds at -125 compared to -130 at Caesars.
Our recommendation reduces to three stars at -4 but I would play Team Canada to -4.5 as I believe it has the pitching and offensive firepower to overwhelm a Great Britain side that could be a little less fresh following a late-night opening game on Saturday.
Canada vs. Great Britain odds analysis
Canada opened as a -520 moneyline favorite at DraftKings but in the -650 range elsewhere. BetMGM and Caesars first posted the Canadians at -3.5 on the run line.
Totals opened between 9 and 11.5 runs before quickly settling to between 10.5 and 11 across our best sport sbooks.
Canada vs. Great Britain game info
- Date: Sunday, March 12, 2023, 3 p.m. ET
- TV: FS1
- Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
- Weather: Indoors
Canada-Great Britain pick made 03/12/2023 at 11:20 a.m. ET.
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