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A spot in baseball's gold medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be at stake when the United States and South Korea collide in a semifinal on Thursday at Yokohama Baseball Stadium. On Wednesday, the Americans beat the Dominican Republic, 3-1, to keep their gold medal hopes alive. Later that day, South Korea lost to Japan, 5-2, to drop into the loser's bracket. The winner on Thursday will clinch at least a silver medal and advance to the gold medal game against Japan on Saturday. Meanwhile, the loser will face the Dominican Republic in the bronze medal game.

First pitch is set for 6 a.m. ET. The United States is the -210 favorite (risk $210 to win $100) in the latest USA vs. South Korea odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while South Korea is the +175 underdog. The over-under for total runs scored is eight. Before you lock in your South Korea vs. USA picks or Olympic baseball predictions, be sure to see what SportsLine baseball expert Matt Snyder has to say.

A former player for Indiana University and a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Snyder has been a baseball writer with CBS Sports since 2011. CBS Sports' longest-tenured baseball expert combines simple logic learned from his baseball-playing days with an extensive background in analytics. He went 26-18 in the 2020 MLB playoffs, including 8-4 on World Series bets. Anybody who followed him saw some huge returns. 

Now, Snyder has studied the USA vs. South Korea baseball matchup and revealed his expert picks and predictions. You can see his top 2020 Olympics picks only at SportsLine. Here are the latest Olympics baseball odds and betting trends for South Korea vs. USA:

  • United States vs. South Korea spread: USA -1.5
  • United States vs. South Korea Over/Under: 8 runs
  • United States vs. South Korea money line: USA -210, South Korea +175
  • USA: The Americans lead the Olympics in ERA (2.48)
  • KOR: South Korea leads the Olympics in batting average (.306) and slugging (.468)

Why you should back the United States

Team USA has shown to have the best pitching so far in Yokohama. The Americans lead the six-team Olympics field with a 2.48 ERA. For comparison, the Dominican Republic is second at 3.56. On Thursday, the United States will start Twins Triple-A right-hander Joe Ryan (1-0), who allowed one run and five hits in six innings with three strikeouts in the team's opening game of the Olympics, an 8-1 win over Israel.

In addition, Tyler Austin brings a hot bat into Thursday's semifinal. A former Yankee playing in his second season with the Central League's Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Austin is batting .412, with two home runs and five RBI in the tournament.

Why you should back South Korea

The South Koreans have been the best hitting team so far at the Olympics. Through five games, they are hitting .306 and slugging .468. Both are tops in the field. Hyunsoo Kim, who played with the Orioles and Twins in the majors, has been the team's best hitter, batting .455 with two home runs, six RBI and an .864 slugging percentage.

In addition, South Korea has been the better fielding team in Yokohama. The South Koreans have made just two errors through five games and have a fielding percentage of .987. Meanwhile, the Americans have made five errors over four games and have a fielding percentage of .966, worst among the teams at the Summer Olympics.

How to make 2020 Tokyo Olympics baseball picks for South Korea vs. USA

Snyder is going under on the total and he's also found a critical x-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the run line. Head to SportsLine now to see Snyder's 2020 Olympic baseball picks. 

So who wins USA vs. South Korea? And what critical x-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to get Matt Snyder's best bets for USA vs. South Korea, all from the expert who has crushed his baseball picks, and find out.