In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of 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 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 11-1

Over/Under Predictions: 4-8

Run Line Predictions: 8-4

Featured Matchup: 1-0

👀 Kareem Hunt visits Cleveland. Former Chiefs and Browns running back Kareem Hunt is reportedly visiting Cleveland as the team explores options to bolster their running back depth following Nick Chubb’s season-ending knee injury. Chubb sustained ligament damage in the Browns' recent loss to the Steelers, prompting head coach Kevin Stefanski to confirm his absence for the remainder of the season. In the meantime, the team plans to feature Jerome Ford, who had a strong performance with 106 rushing yards on Monday.

🙌 Peppers, Gates highlight Hall of Fame Nominees. The Pro Football Hall of Fame's list of 173 nominees for the 2024 class includes nine first-year eligible players, with Julius Peppers and Antonio Gates as the prominent names. Peppers, known for his dominant career as a lineman, tallied 159.5 sacks and 10 seasons with double-digit sacks, ranking fourth in NFL history in sacks. Meanwhile, Gates, who transitioned from college basketball to become one of the NFL's top tight ends, concluded his 16-year career with 955 catches, 11,841 yards, and an NFL record 116 touchdown receptions among tight ends.

🤕 Jamaal Williams set to miss time with hamstring injury. New Orleans Saints running back Jamaal Williams is anticipated to be sidelined due to a hamstring injury. Williams had to exit the game during the first half of the Saints' victory over the Carolina Panthers, and with Alvin Kamara serving a suspension and Kendre Miller inactive, the team relied on practice squad running back Tony Jones Jr. and quarterback Taysom Hill to manage carries in the second half. While Miller is expected to return this week, indicating his readiness for the upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers.

There are 15 MLB games schedule to take place throughout this afternoon and evening, and our model has predictions for all 15 matchup. You can those predictions below.

Baltimore Orioles @ Houston Astros

Model Predicts- Orioles ML, UNDER 9, Orioles -1.5

The Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros will cap off a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Houston.

Baltimore has remained in firm control of this series following yet another win last night. The victory was also the fourth straight for the O’s, which is tied for the third longest streak in baseball.

Meanwhile, Houston has now dropped six of its last eight games and only owns a 0.5-game lead in the AL West.

Houston desperately needs to find the win column in order to stay atop the AL West, but our model thinks Baltimore will pull off the win and get the sweep this afternoon. Let’s dive into why that is and see our model’s best bet for this matchup.

Baltimore Orioles

• Have been unstoppable at the plate in September

  • Rank 4th in wRC+ (119), 1st in BABIP (.341), and 5th in OPS (.794) since September 1st (FanGraphs)

  • 6.33 runs per game in that time

• Offense has gotten significantly better during win streak

  • wRC+ has risen to 125 and BABIP to .413. Ranks in top-5 in both categories

  • Rank 6th in OPS (.8.13) and averaging 7.5 runs per game

  • High strikeout rate (27.0%) and low walk rate (4.1%) is a concern though

• Kyle Bradish (11-7 record, 3.12 ERA) will be today’s starter

  • 2.62 ERA and 1.02 WHIP across last 41.2 innings

  • Surrenders some hard contact (43.3% Hard Hit rate), but has excellent control (6.3% walk rate) and generates tons of ground balls (48.1% GB%)

Houston Astros

• Still one of best offenses in September, but cold as ice right now

  • Rank 1st in wRC+ (134) and OPS (.857) since September 1st

  • However, wRC+ and OPS have fallen to 107 and .753, respectively, over last eight games

  • 7-9 overall this month, 2-6 in last eight games

• Not doing any damage outside of home runs

  • 31 homers is second most in MLB

  • But, .285 BABIP ranks 19th this month

    • not generating many base hits

• Cristian Javier (9-4 record, 4.74 ERA) will get start on mound

  • Can’t keep balls off the barrel- 10.1% Barrel rate ranks in bottom 17% of majors

  • Oftentimes leads to line drives and home runs

    • Ranks in bottom 1% of MLB in ground ball rate (26.6%), 1.54 home runs per nine innings

What’s the Play?

Our model loved the Orioles yesterday as an underdog, and we think this is a good spot to go back them.

Houston is at a disadvantage at the plate and on the mound today. Yes, the month-long numbers at the plate favor Houston, but the margins are slim and the Astros have cooled off significantly since the start of the month.

Additionally, Javier’s inability to keep balls off the barrel and out of the air are his biggest weaknesses, while those are two of Bradish’s biggest strengths.

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Our model thinks the O’s should be nearly -160 favorites, so we’ll take them at -110.

The Play: Orioles ML (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Baltimore Orioles- 95-56 overall this season, 4-0 in last four games

• Miami Marlins- 79-73 overall this season, 4-1 in last five games

• Chicago Cubs- 79-72 overall this season, 42-34 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Texas Rangers- Over is 80-63-8 this season, 44-27-6 as the home team

• Colorado Rockies- Under is 81-69-1 this season, 44-32-1 as the away team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Cincinnati Reds- Run line is 93-60 overall this season, 45-32 as the home team

• Baltimore Orioles- Run line is 91-60 overall this season, 19-8 as a road favorite

Various injuries around the league. See full injury report at MLB.com.

🤕 Ohtani has surgery, won’t pitch until 2025. Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani underwent elbow surgery, and his doctor, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, expects Ohtani to be available as a hitter on Opening Day next season and to return to pitching in 2025. The procedure aimed to reinforce Ohtani's healthy ulnar collateral ligament, indicating that it was not reconstructed through Tommy John surgery. Ohtani, who tore his UCL on August 23, expressed gratitude for the support and vowed to return stronger on the baseball field.

💪 Cubs dominate Pirates in series opener. The Chicago Cubs entered Tuesday night in the midst of a brutal five-game losing streak, but showed the rest of MLB what they are capable of with a 14-1 win over the Pirates. The Cubs recorded 12 hits in the matchup to Pittsburgh’s five, four of which were home runs. Chicago now owns a 0.5-game lead over Miami for the final wild card spot in the National League, so it will need to repeat that performance a few more times in order to keep its playoff hopes alive.

💥 Cabrera moves into 16th on all-time hits list. The Detroit Tigers suffered a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last night, but Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera made history in the matchup. Cabrera recorded his 3,167th career hit in the top of the seventh inning, giving the Tigers a baserunner in what was then a 2-1 lead. He moved into 16th on the all-time list with the performance, surpassing Adrian Beltre.

🇫🇷 Victor Wembanyama to suit up for Paris Olympics. San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is set on representing France at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The move is a rather significant one given France's recent performance at the FIBA World Cup, exiting the event before the second round. Wembanyama did not participate in the World Cup due to concerns for the upcoming NBA season, but his addition certainly makes France a threat for the gold medal.

🏀 Rick Barnes staying in with the Volunteers. Tennessee has prolonged coach Rick Barnes' contract until the 2027-28 season, providing stability for his potential career conclusion with the team. Barnes, who recently turned 69, enters his ninth season at Tennessee and 37th as a head coach, boasting a career record of 779-406, ranking 15th all-time for Division I victories. During Barnes' tenure, Tennessee has secured five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, achieved at least 25 wins on four occasions, and earned top four seeds in the NCAA tournament four times.

🟦 Blues name Brayden Schenn captain. Brayden Schenn, a veteran forward with a long history with the St. Louis Blues, has been designated as the team's next captain. Schenn becomes just the 24th player to hold this title in the franchise's 56-year history, joining the list of illustrious captains that includes Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, and others. Schenn, who has spent seven seasons with the Blues and was part of their Stanley Cup victory in 2019, is embarking on his 15th NHL season.

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- Jackson Holliday is currently the top prospect in baseball, and is the son of which former MLB star?

Question #2- Steve Smith Sr. played his first 13 NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but did not end his career with the team. Which team did Smith play for in his final years?

Question #3- Who is the youngest person to be selected in the NBA Draft, making it to the league at just 17 years old?

Anyone know what has happened on September 20th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On September 20th…

1988- Boston Red Sox star Wade Boggs records his sixth consecutive 200 hit season. Boggs became the first player to ever reach this milestone, and he would extend the streak to seven seasons in 1989. However, Boggs has since been surpassed by a handful of players, with Pete Rose and Ichiro Suzuki leading the charge with 10 consecutive 200 hit seasons.

2013- New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez sets a new MLB record for career grand slams with 24. Lou Gehrig, another Yankee legend, previsouly held the record, launching 23 in his career. Rodriguez would go on to retire with 25 total grand slams, which still remains the record today.

2022- Kenyan distance runner Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record in the marathon. Kipchoge would complete the 26.2 mile run in 2 hours, 1 minute, and nine seconds, lowering the world record by 30 seconds. The record-setting run came a few years after Kipchoge became the only human to ever run under two hours in the marathon, but that event was not considered a world record due to its experimental nature

1. Matt Holliday

2. Baltimore Ravens

3. Andrew Bynum