USA vs. Japan Softball 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Odds and expert picks for Tuesday's gold-medal game

Team USA attempts to reclaim its superiority in softball when it takes on Japan on Tuesday in the gold-medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Softball made its Olympic debut in 1996, and the Americans won the first three gold medals before being defeated by the Japanese in 2008. With the sport having made its return in Tokyo, Team USA won all five of its group-stage games - including a 2-1 walk-off triumph over Japan less than 48 hours before the gold-medal showdown.

First pitch is set for 7 a.m. ET at Yokohama Stadium. Team USA listed as the -137 favorite at William Hill Sportsbook, while Japan is the +100 underdog. Before making any 2020 Olympics bets, be sure to see what SportsLine's Olympics expert, Mike Tierney, has to say.

A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered nine Olympic Games in person. For Rio in 2016, Tierney profited big-time. He told readers to bet Over on Team USA's gold-medal count (41.5) and Over on Team USA's overall medal count (102.5). The result? 46 golds, 121 medals and two easy cashes.

And for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Tierney hit two of his three predictions: Germany (+200) to win the most gold medals and the United States winning Under 10.5 gold medals (+110).

Now, with the Tokyo Summer Olympics underway, Tierney has analyzed every angle of Tuesday's USA-Japan gold-medal matchup in softball to help bettors find the best betting options. 

He has identified an X-factor that has him jumping all over one team on the money line. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he has to say before locking in your picks. 

Who wins Tuesday's USA vs. Japan gold-medal game in softball? And what X-factor makes one team a MUST-BACK on the money line? Join SportsLine right now to find out which team in the USA vs. Japan game you should back, all from the expert who has crushed his Olympic picks!

Tierney's pick: 

Japan +100

Favoritism can be justified for Team USA in the gold-medal game, but not at odds of -137. Japan's run differential is plus-13, well ahead of plus-7 for the Americans. For runs scored, Japan's 18 doubles Team USA's total. Their group-stage matchup, won by the U.S. with a walk-off homer, could have gone either way. The only tangible stakes with that outcome was batting in the "home" slot in the final, and Japan rested two key pitchers. Team USA has taken five of the seven head-to-head matchups in world championship games. But the Japanese recorded a win over the Americans in their most recent Olympic battle for gold 13 years ago. Team USA wields superior pitching but, having not scored more than two runs in any game, allows foes to hang around. As a result, Japan can hang gold medals around their necks. 

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