Panama will play Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday, March 7, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The game will start at 6 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on FS1.
Puerto Rico is a -750 Moneyline favorite, while Panama is a +500 moneyline underdog.
Here's my Panama vs Puerto Rico prediction and World Baseball Classic picks for March 7, 2026.
Panama vs Puerto Rico Prediction
- My Pick: Puerto Rico Spread
My Panama vs Puerto Rico best bet is on Puerto Rico to cover the spread.
Panama vs Puerto Rico Odds
| Panama Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
NA | NA | +500 |
| Puerto Rico Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
NA | NA | -750 |
Panama vs Puerto Rico Kalshi Odds
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Panama vs Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic Picks
Panama Betting Preview
Panama will send right-hander Ariel Jurado to the mound on Saturday night to face a potent Puerto Rico lineup.
Jurado, who turned 30 in January, last pitched in MLB for the Mets in 2020, but has made a career for himself in the KBO, pitching for the Kiwoom Heroes and Samsung Lions.
Jurado is the No. 2 starter for a Panama team that dropped their first contest to Cuba, 3-1, on Friday. Cleveland Guardians' left-hander Logan Allen started that game, pitching three innings, allowing three runs on two homers, while striking out five and walking none. Allen didn't hit the pool stage pitch limit of 65, being taken out after 54 pitches.
Ultimately, it was the lineup that failed Panama.
They managed just five hits off of Cuba's pitchers, with the only extra-base hits coming off the bats of Jose Ramos and Edmundo Sosa. The other current big-leaguers in the lineup — José Caballero, Miguel Amaya, and Leo Jiménez — went 0-for-8 with two walks.
As of this writing, Puerto Rico has not announced their starter for Saturday's contest. But considering the Panamanian lineup's struggles against the Cuban staff with very little MLB experience, it's reasonable to expect them to struggle again against a stronger Puerto Rican staff.
Puerto Rico Betting Preview
Despite losing some of their marquee names due to insurance issues, Puerto Rico is bringing a stacked roster to the World Baseball Classic on both sides of the ball.
Veteran right-hander Seth Lugo started for them on Friday night. While they haven't named Saturday's starter as of this writing, they have several quality options to choose from, such as Yankees prospect Elmer Rodríguez, Orioles long man Rico García, and journeyman right-hander José De León.
Puerto Rico's lineup, which contains experienced MLBers such as Nolan Arenado, Christian Vázquez, Eddie Rosario, Willi Castro, Heliot Ramos, and MJ Melendez, will be a force to be reckoned with in their pool, topped only by the Dominican Republic.
They start this tournament by likely facing the two weakest teams in their pool, Colombia and Panama, who should provide a good litmus test for how deep this roster really is.
The bigger tests will come down the line.
How To Bet My Panama vs Puerto Rico Pick
Puerto Rico comes into this game with the advantage of depth in both its lineup and pitching staff.
Although they haven't named a starter, I like their matchup of Rodríguez/García/De León against low-tier MLB hitters — more than I like Jurado, a KBO arm, going up against mostly mid-tier MLB hitters.
While I don't necessarily expect either of these offenses to put up crooked numbers, I don't expect Panama's lineup to be competitive against a Puerto Rican bullpen that will have at least a few of Edwin Díaz, Fernando Cruz, Jorge López, and Jovani Morán available.
There's not much value in a straight moneyline bet here, so I'll take Puerto Rico to cover the spread, which I expect to open in the -1.5 range.
Pick: Puerto Rico Spread
