It was a whirlwind Thursday afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I foolishly thought I would easily slip into the weekend, but the world of sports stunned us all twice.
First, there was the trending news about college football. Reports surfaced on Thursday and were confirmed by CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander That USC and UCLA plan to join the Big Ten in time for the 2024 season. Nothing has been finalized, but now that the news is out, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t.
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As if that wasn’t enough, earlier this week, Kyrie Irving announced that he’s picking the final year of his deal and that he plans to stay in Brooklyn. Well that’s cool and all, but Kevin Durant has different ideas. Durant asked to be tradedwith Miami and Phoenix on his wish list.
So the Big Ten is in California, and Kevin Durant could be on the move again. If these stories aren’t enough, there is more.
Well, let’s move on to the picks for tonight before Notre Dame joins the NFC East.
All Eastern Times, All Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
hot ticket
Yankees at Astros, 6:10 p.m. | Television: MLB.TV
Latest possibilities:
under 7.5
- main trend: Under 41-19-3 in the last 63 games in Houston.
- Choice: less than 7.5 (-115)
This has become one of my favorite baseball competitions, not only because of the animosity that arose between these franchises but because of the profitability of betting on the games. While both offenders get a lot of attention, the main reason they win so many matches is to promote them.
Did you know that the Yankees have an all-time low of the baseball era at 2.93? They also have the second highest strike rate and lowest allowed hard contact rate in the league. Do you know which team has the second lowest ERA in baseball? It’s the stars! Although they don’t have the same attacking hit rates, Houston also has excellent defense. Both teams are as good at blocking runs as they are at scoring.
To me, this night seems like a game that you’ll only need a few times. Luis Severino has been fantastic for the Yankees, with a strike rate of 29.7% and a walk rate of just 7.2%. It’s vulnerable to Homer, but it’s mainly singles because hitters rarely make it to base. Houston’s Luis Garcia has a higher hitter of his own (25.2%) but runs lower than hitters (6.3%) and drives ball after ball.
On top of that, Houston might be without one of the biggest bats this evening. Jordan Alvarez was taken off the field on Wednesday after colliding with Jeremy Pena after a volley in left field. If he’s missing from the middle of the Houston standings, managing the Astros’ lineup will be much easier.
Here’s what SportsLine has to say about the game: The drop model does not bet the total in this game, but it has a B-grade game on one side of the money line.
Snapshots
USATSI
MLB
Brewers at Pirates, 7:05 p.m. | Television: MLB.TV
Latest possibilities:
Milwaukee Brewers -130
Pick: Brewers (-130) – Unless you watch the Pirates routinely, you will be surprised to learn that Pittsburgh has been one of the most productive offenses in baseball for the past two weeks. The Pirates’ 12.86% run rate ranked eighth in the league in that period, and their 4.98% home run rate ranked fourth. However, as a team, they only score 0.217, and their 26.3% strike rate is the worst in the league.
Basically every ball they made contact has flown out of the garden, and when you live next to a zinger, it will die too. Tonight they will die. The Brewers shooting crew has the third highest strike rate in baseball, so it’s not a strong match for the Pirates who swing and miss a lot. Moreover, the Milwaukee attack is ahead of the hacker run rate (13.13%) and HR rate (5.05%) in the same period. And the Brewers do this while shooting only 23.8% of the time and routinely laying the ball! They are the most trustworthy of the two teams tonight.
main direction: The Brewers have won five consecutive times in Pittsburgh.
Reds at Cobbs, 8:05 p.m. | Television: MLB.TV
Latest possibilities:
more than 10
Pickaxe: more than 10 (-110) – I told you yesterday to take first in this match because the weather was very much in our favour, but the Cubs almost made it to the finish on their own, beating the Reds 8-3. I’m telling you tonight to take charge because weather conditions are strongly in our favour, and that’s reflected in the overall as high as it gets.
Don’t be afraid of him. In fact, if you want to find a replacement line with a total of 11 or 12, feel free. While it would be ideal if the match was played in the afternoon, it will be hot in Wrigley tonight, with temperatures in the upper 80s and winds blowing left of center at an average of 14 mph. Essentially, any ball placed in the air tonight will carry farther than it should. This is not good news for Kyle Hendrix and Graham Ashcroft. Both bowlers are batting at rates well below average for an MLB starter, and the last thing any player in this game will want to see tonight is to put the balls in play.
main direction: The game ended 6-2 in Cincinnati’s last eight games.
? Sports day selection: The drop model has not one play, but two staggered games in tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.
Dinger party
Let’s lean on the weather at Wrigley Field tonight more with these home props.
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