For the first time since 2008, baseball is at the Summer Olympic Games. With just one day of competition left, gold- and bronze-medal game matchups are set and the final odds are out for Tokyo 2020 baseball.
Israel and Mexico have been eliminated, the Dominican Republic and South Korea square off for bronze, and the top two teams in the tournament — Japan and the United States — will battle in the deciding gold-medal game (August 7, 6 a.m.).
Online sportsbook Sportsbook has updated Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball odds and host Japan is still the gold-medal favorite.
Check below for the latest Olympic baseball odds and find out our best bets and values for the medalists.
How to bet on the Olympics | Odds for most gold medals | Odds for most medals
Olympic Baseball Odds: Who will win Gold?
Odds as of August 6 at Sportsbook
Without a gold medal in event history, the home Japanese will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound with Olympic glory on the line. The stars and stripes will countre with former Texas Rangers starter Nick Martinez.
Olympic Baseball Odds Best Bet
Japan (-210, Opened at +115)
Japan has recently dominated these international baseball events. They went into the Tokyo Olympics as the highest-ranked WBSC men’s baseball team in the world, ahead of all the other Tokyo 2020 participants. The most well-known player to American audiences is former New York Yankees starter Tanaka, but much of their roster is made up of stars from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, one of the premier baseball leagues outside of the U.S.
Ryoya Kurihara, last year’s NPB Finals MVP, and Munetaka Murakami, the league’s home run leader, are two of Japan’s star hitters. Winning their Sportsbook game 4-3 over the DR, the Japanese only solidified their place as gold-medal favorites.
They secured a spot in the gold-medal game early, and awaited the Sportsbook of South Korea/United States. The final match will be played on August 7 at 6 a.m. ET.
Can the United States Upset Japan?
USA (+170, Opened at +300)
The United States actually opened with the third-best odds to win an Olympic baseball gold, behind South Korea and Japan, but the Americans have been the second-favorite since the Sportsbook game. In events like these, the well-known American players can often be overvalued, but with a roster mixed with proven players and hungry prospects, the USA has a shot at gold in Tokyo.
Top prospects Simeon Woods Richardson of the Twins and Triston Casas of the Red Sox feature on the roster alongside longtime MLB veterans like Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson and David Robertson.
The United States defeated South Korea to earn a spot in the gold-medal game and must upset Japan to win the tournament.
Olympic Baseball Odds: Who will win Bronze?
Odds as of August 6 at Sportsbook
Olympic Baseball: Bronze Medal Pick
South Korea (-200)
South Korea lost to Japan and the United States in both of the tournament’s semifinal games. However, South Korea’s medal hopes are still alive, and they sit just one win away from the Olympic podium.
South Korea’s roster is filled with some of the brightest stars from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), including former Baltimore Oriole Hyun-soo Kim and big-league reliever Seung-hwan Oh.
The Koreans have been competitive all tournament long, losing only to the two teams left competing for gold. If the bronze-medal game is anything like the Round 1 match between the Dominican Republic and South Korea, which South Korea won 4-3, this contest will be tight.