In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions & Bonuses ⬇️

Sportsbook Offers & Bonuses- Click Here

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the MLB, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 5-4

Over/Under Predictions: 1-7-1

Run Line Predictions: 4-5

Featured Matchup: 0-1

15 MLB games are scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all 15 matchups can be found below.

Minnesota Twins @ Chicago Cubs

Model Predicts- Twins ML, OVER 5.5, Cubs +1.5

The Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs will continue their three-game series on Tuesday, with the first pitch for Game 2 scheduled to take place at 8:05 PM Eastern.

Minnesota got the best of Chicago in Game 1 of this series, posting a 3-0 shutout win last night. That win was the fifth-consecutive victory for the Twins, while the loss was the second in the last three games for the Cubs.

Minnesota is on a roll right now, and our model expects the Twins to build on that momentum tonight. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Minnesota Twins

• Enter tonight on five-game win streak

  • One win over Mets, three wins over White Sox, and one win over Cubs

  • Own +26 run differential during that stretch

• Offense has been amongst MLB’s best in August

  • Rank 2nd in wRC+ (169), 8th in BABIP (.340), and 2nd in OPS (.970) since August 1st

  • Seven home runs and 32 runs scored this month both rank in top-seven of MLB

• Starting pitcher- Pablo López

  • Due for positive regression- 4.64 ERA vs 3.43 xERA

  • Elite command (5.5% Walk rate); ranks in top 30% of MLB in Whiff rate (27.9%) and Strikeout rate (27.8%)

Chicago Cubs

• Lost Game 1 of series last night

  • Lost game 3-0. Recorded four hits and struck out 14 times

  • Still 4-2 in last six games

• Offense not nearly as strong as Twins’ this month

  • Rank 19th in wRC+ (96), 17th in BABIP (.273), and 16th in OPS (.708)

  • Strikeouts are main concern- 25.7% Strikeout rate over last five games

• Starting pitcher- Shota Imanaga

  • Due for slight regression- 3.10 ERA vs 3.48 xERA

  • Struggles with fly balls (34.4% Ground Ball rate)

What’s the Play?

Tonight’s matchup should be a great pitchers duel between Pablo Lopez and Shota Imanaga, but we agree with our model that Lopez and the Twins will emerge victorious here.

The gap between Minnesota and Chicago at the plate right now is staggering, and that gap is unlikely to close anytime soon. The Twins are batting an incredible .298 as a team in August compared to Chicago’s .231, and that swing alone has generated 32 runs for Minnesota in the last four games compared to 21 in the last five contests for Chicago.

Additionally, underlying metrics favor Lopez tonight, and his xERA is 1.21-runs lower than his real ERA. Lopez is also better at keeping baseballs on the ground and off the barrel compared to Imanaga, two factors that once again benefit Minnesota.

Our model has the Twins as a -109 favorite, which is right in line with many sportsbooks at -110. As a result, we’ll back Minnesota to stay hot.

The Play: Twins ML (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Baltimore Orioles- 67-46 overall this season, 33-21 as the away team

• Minnesota Twins- 63-48 overall this season, 5-0 in last five games

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Baltimore Orioles- Over is 64-40-9 this season, 34-17-3 as the away team

• Atlanta Braves- Under is 66-40-5 this season, highest win percentage in MLB (62.3%)

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Pittsburgh Pirates- Run line is 63-48 this season, 18-7 as a home underdog

😬 White Sox tie AL record with 21st consecutive loss. The Chicago White Sox tied the American League record for consecutive losses with their 21st straight defeat, falling 5-1 to the Oakland Athletics. The White Sox, who last won on July 10, are on pace for a historically poor season and have struggled offensively, being held to one run or none in 32 games. Despite the effort and frustration expressed by manager Pedro Grifol and outfielder Corey Julks, the team couldn't overcome strong pitching by the A's, including a standout performance by JP Sears.

⬇️ Marlins DFA Nick Gordon amidst hitting struggles. The Miami Marlins designated outfielder Nick Gordon for assignment after acquiring him from the Minnesota Twins in February in exchange for reliever Steven Okert. Gordon, earning $900,000 in his first arbitration year, posted a .227/.258/.369 slash line with eight home runs, 32 RBIs, and five stolen bases in 95 games this season. A career .244 hitter, Gordon was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Twins.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- Two players in MLB history have recorded at least 4,000 hits. Who are those players?

Question #2- JaMarcus Russell and what former Notre Dame quarterback were the only QB’s selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft?

Question #3- Former NBA player Goran Dragic played for seven teams in his career. What team did he play for twice?

Anyone know what has happened on August 6th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On August 6th…

1890- MLB legend Cy Young makes his MLB debut. Young’s debut came as a member of the Cleveland Spiders, a game in which he would surrender just three hits in an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Colts. Young went on to play in the MLB until 1911, recording an MLB record 511 wins in his career.

1999- Tony Gwynn records his 3,000th career hit. Gwynn reached the milestone in a 12-10 Padres win over the Expos, a game that saw Gwynn go 4-for-5 at the plate. He would end his career with 3,141 hits, which currently ranks 22nd in MLB history.

2006- Tiger Woods wins the Buick Open at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Woods shot 24-under par for the tournament, which was three strokes better than runner up Jim Furyk. The victory was also the 50th of Woods’ career as a member of the PGA Tour, making him the youngest golfer in Tour history to reach 50 wins, doing so at 30 years old.

1. Pete Rose, Ty Cobb

2. Brady Quinn

3. Phoenix Suns