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: 7-7

Over/Under Predictions: 6-8

Run Line Predictions: 8-6

Featured Matchup: 1-0

💰 Randall Cobb fined for blindside block. New York Jets wide receiver Randall Cobb incurred a fine of $13,889 for an illegal hit on New York Giants' Bobby McCain during a preseason game, as reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The hit was caught on HBO's "Hard Knocks" and happened when Cobb executed an illegal blindside block on McCain while trying to block for his teammate Tyler Conklin. McCain suffered a concussion as a result of the hit, leading to tensions between the two teams, which the Jets and the Giants are expected to handle in their regular-season matchup on October 29.

👨‍⚕️ Cooper Kupp visitis specialist in Minnesota for hamstring. Cooper Kupp, the star wide receiver for the Rams, is undergoing additional evaluation of his hamstring injury just days before the NFL season commences. Kupp initially suffered the hamstring injury in early August and experienced setbacks despite being labeled as "day-to-day" by the Rams. It remains uncertain if he will be available for the Rams' Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks, and caution is likely the approach, although no definitive status update has been provided.

🤝 Bill Parcells gives millions of dollars to former players. Bill Parcells may come across as grumpy, but when his former players are in financial need, he's generously given millions to 20 of them without expecting repayment. This remarkable act of kindness was shared by former sports writer Gary Myers, who detailed it in his forthcoming book "Once A Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football," focusing on the 1986 Giants, the team Parcells led to their first Super Bowl win. Parcells, often known for his tough coaching style, sees this as a way to support players who sacrificed their bodies and commitment for him during their careers.

There are 15 MLB games scheduled to take place throughout this afternoon and evening. However, due to gaps in the season data, our model has predictions for 14 of today’s matchups.

Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics

Model Predicts- Angels ML, OVER 8, Angels -1.5

The Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics will close out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

Surprisingly, Oakland has taken the first two games of this series, winning in dominant fashion in Game 1 and winning 2-1 in Game 2. The A’s have now won three of their last four contests, all of which came against an AL West opponent.

Neither one of these team has anything to play for, and Los Angeles has started the process of a hard reset after placing several starters on waivers earlier this week. However, our model still likes the Angels to win this game by several runs, so let’s dive into why that is the case and see where our model thinks the most value lies.

Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels made the decision of keeping Shohei Ohtani on the roster at this season’s trade deadline, a move that would either make or break the team’s future.

Well, one month later it is clear that the decision may have actually set the Angels back a decade, as Ohtani is now expected to leave in free agency and the Angels have one of the worst farm systems in all of baseball.

Even with their No.1 star still on the roster, the Angels have posted an 8-21 record since August 1st, a stretch that has seen L.A. go 2-10 against teams in its own division. We’ve seen the offensive completely crater over the last month, posting a 75 wRC+, .274 BABIP, and 25.7% strikeout rate, per FanGraphs, with the Angels ranking in the bottom seven in all categories.

The pitching staff has done the team no favors either. Ohtani’s UCL injury has taken him out of the rotation, one of the reason’s why we’ve seen Angels pitchers post a 6.14 ERA and 5.34 FIP since August 1st.

Tyler Anderson (5-6 record, 5.58 ERA) will be in charge of bringing those numbers back to an acceptable level, but that is unlikely to happen even against the worst team in baseball. Anderson has been horrific in his last several starts, posting an 8.10 ERA and 6.00 FIP since August 1st. The main reason for his struggles is his 26.9% ground ball rate and 13.3% walk rate, both of which have led to runs in bunches.

Oakland Athletics

There aren’t many good things to say about a team that is 41-95 and 36.5-games from first place in its own division, but what Oakland has done over the last few days is encouraging.

As previously mentioned, the A’s are 3-1 in their last four games, defeating a division opponent in each of those three wins. In that time we’ve seen Oakland post a 114 wRC+, .779 OPS, and .308 BABIP, ranking the team inside the top-12 in all three categories.

Perhaps the most impressive thing though is that Oakland has drastically lowered its strikeout rate over the last four games, seeing a 5.5% drop. Walks have been few and far between, but the A’s have finally found some pop in their bats to make up for it.

Oakland is likely going to have to keep posting those numbers if it wants to extend its win streak to three games though, as Kyle Muller (1-5 record, 7.67 ERA) is set to start today’s game.

Muller took a month and half hiatus from the mound, and hasn’t been great since his return on August 18th. We’ve seen him post a 7.29 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, and surrender three homers across his last three starts, indicating that opposing hitters are having no trouble sizing him up.

What’s the Play?

Neither starting pitcher should give anyone confidence when it comes to picking today’s winner. However, both of their struggles make the over an appealing play, one that our model sees value on.

The over has been a solid bet when Tyler Anderson is on the mound. He alone has surrendered 22 runs in his last four starts, and the Angels and their opponents have combined for an average of 15.25 runs per game in that time.

Similar trends appear when Muller is on the mound. The over is 0-2 in his last two starts because Oakland was held scoreless, but we saw the A’s and their opponent combine for an average of 14.0 runs in Muller’s previous five starts.

Our model thinks the over should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 9.5, so we feel comfortable backing it at 8 runs.

The Play: Over 8 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Milwaukee Brewers- 76-59 overall this season, 40-27 as the home team, 8-2 in last ten games

• Detroit Tigers- 62-74 overall this season, 27-15 against division opponents (Play AL Central rival Chicago this afternoon)

• Baltimore Orioles- 84-51 overall this season, 25-20 as a road underdog

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Texas Rangers- Over is 67-60-8 this season, 37-25-6 as the home team

• Baltimore Orioles- Over is 67-57-11 this season, 35-27-5 as the away team

• San Diego Padres- Under is 71-57-9 this season, 38-28-3 as the home team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Baltimore Orioles- Run line is 82-53 overall this season, 32-13 as a road underdog

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

🤔 Mike Trout ponders Angels future. The Los Angeles Angels, who are facing the possibility of losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency, are also in a situation where Mike Trout wants to discuss the team's future direction. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, expressed a need for conversations about the club's plan during the offseason, but didn't speculate on a potential trade demand. Despite Trout's remarkable career, the Angels have struggled to build a winning team around him and Ohtani, with Trout making the playoffs only once in his career.

📝 Orioles claim Jorge López off waivers. The Baltimore Orioles have acquired right-handed pitcher Jorge Lopez off waivers from the Miami Marlins. Lopez had previously played for the Orioles from 2020 to 2022, earning an All-Star selection in his final season before being traded to the Minnesota Twins in August 2022 and then to the Marlins in July 2023. This season, the 30-year-old Lopez has a record of 6-2 with a 6.13 ERA and three saves in 49 relief appearances split between the Twins and Marlins.

🤒 More Reds players test positive for COVID-19. Cincinnati Reds left-hander Brandon Williamson has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss his scheduled start on Sunday and becoming the fourth Reds pitcher to test positive in the same week, posing a threat to the team's playoff aspirations. Starter Hunter Greene was placed on the COVID-19 injured list following his win on August 30, while right-handed relievers Fernando Cruz and Ben Lively were added to the list during Friday's doubleheader against the Cubs. The Reds are taking precautions by reinstating some pandemic-era protocols and hoping that no more players or staff members will fall ill.

🦬 Colorado picks up first win of Sanders era. Deion Sanders' tenure as Colorado's head coach started with a remarkable upset as the Buffaloes secured a thrilling 45-42 victory over 17th-ranked TCU. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, set a Colorado single-game passing record with 510 yards and four touchdowns, and two-way player Travis Hunter excelled with 11 receptions and a crucial interception, contributing to the Buffaloes' unexpected triumph. Colorado will take their momentum back home next week for a tilt against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a game in which the Buffaloes went from being seven-point underdogs to favorites.

🏔 Could Oregon State and Washington State join the MWC? The Mountain West Conference recently presented proposals to Oregon State and Washington State, the remaining members of the Pac-12, after recent realignment moves. Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez made these presentations in late August, signaling an effort to bring the two universities into the Mountain West fold. With Stanford and California leaving for the ACC and eight other Pac-12 teams heading elsewhere, including the Big Ten and Big 12, Washington State and Oregon State are exploring options that could involve the Mountain West or even the creation of a new Pac-12 configuration.

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- The Colorado Buffaloes earned their first win of the season yesterday, already matching last season’s win total. When was the last time Colorado finished a season above .500, not including the shortened 2020 season?

Question #2- Josh Johnson is a quarterback that has bounced all over the NFL during his career. How many teams has Johnson played on in his career?

Question #3- Legendary NCAA basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski is mostly known for his time with the Duke Blue Devils, but where did Krzyzewski coach before Duke?

Anyone know what has happened on September 3rd throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On September 3rd…

1974- Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson retires from the NBA. Robertson is widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded players to ever pick up a basketball, as evidenced by his 181 career triple-doubles. Robertson would leave the NBA with 26,710 points, 7,804 rebounds, and 9,887 assists, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame six years after his retirement in 1980.

1995- The Jacksonville Jaguars make their NFL debut against the Houston Oilers. Jacksonville, led by quarterback Steve Beuerlein, tallied just 146 total yards of offense in the game, resulting in just 2.4 yards per play. The nonexistent offense led to just three total points, foreshadowing what would later turn into a 4-12 season.

2001- St. Louis Cardinals rookie Bud Smith throws a no-hitter in a 4-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The no-no came in what was just Smith’s 11th career start, a game in which he threw 134 pitches, striking out seven opposing hitters and walking four. Despite the hot start to his career, Smith would be traded in 2002 to the Philadelphia Phillies and eventually signed with the Minnesota Twins in 2004, but failed to make another start in the big leagues afterwards.

1. 2016

2. 14

3. Army West Point