In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

NBA Model Predictions- Click Here

NHL Model Predictions- Click Here

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NBA 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: 5-4

Over/Under Predictions: 4-4-1

Spread Predictions: 3-6

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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

Cleveland Guardians @ Seattle Mariners

Model Predicts- Mariners ML, UNDER 7.5, Guardians +1.5

The Cleveland Guardians will continue their West Coast road trip on Wednesday, taking on the Settle Mariners in Game 3 of a three-game series.

Cleveland enters today’s matchup fresh off a 5-2 win over Seattle last night, avenging the 5-4 loss the team suffered on Monday. The Guardians now own a 4-2 record in the young season, while Seattle sits at 3-3 through six games.

Our model gives the Mariners greater than a 60% chance to win tonight’s ball game, but we are more focused on the total in this matchup. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Cleveland Guardians

• Bats are hot in young season

  • Rank 3rd in wRC+ (133), 13th in BABIP (.303)

  • Avoiding strikeouts- own 15.5% strikeout rate this season

• However, offense has cooled off in series with Mariners

  • wRC+ has fallen to 88, but strikeout rate has improved (13.9%)

  • Failing to draw walks- 2.8% walk rate is second-to-last in MLB this month

• Starting pitcher- Logan Allen

  • Allowed three runs and six hits across five innings in first start of season

  • 5.40 ERA, but xERA much lower at 4.23

Seattle Mariners

• Early offensive struggles have led to slow start

  • Rank 25th in wRC+ (62), 23rd in BABIP (.257)

  • Strikeouts are major problem- Own 31.2% strikeout rate (last in MLB)

• Pitching staff has been bright spot

  • Starters- 3.72 ERA, 4.42 FIP

  • Relievers- 2.65 ERA, 3.64 FIP

• Starting pitcher- George Kirby

  • Allowed zero runs and two hits across 6.2 innings in first start of season

  • 21.4% Hard Hit rate and 7.1% Barrel rate in that game

What’s the Play?

Cleveland has looked good at the plate this season, and Seattle’s offense has seen improvements in this series, but we agree with our model that runs are going to be tough to come by today.

Cleveland’s early season offensive numbers are slightly inflated due to facing the Oakland Athletics in the first series of the year. The Guardians faced Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, JP Sears, and Paul Blackburn in that series, none of which are near the same level as George Kirby. As previously mentioned, we’ve already seen Cleveland’s offensive numbers tank against this Mariners team compared to the damage that was don against Oakland, and that trend is likely to continue today.

Seattle has some offensive concerns as well, as strikeouts have proven to be a major issue early on. Even if that is cleaned up, Logan Allen, who posted a 3.81 ERA and 22.2% strikeout rate last season, should be in a position to hold the Mariners offense in check. 7.5 is a low total, but we’ll back the under here.

The Play: Under 7.5 (-105)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Boston Red Sox- 4-2 overall this season, 3-0 in last three games

• Pittsburgh Pirates- 5-0 overall this season, 5-0 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Pittsburgh Pirates- Over is 5-0 this season with average total of 12.0

• Seattle Mariners- Under is 3-2-1 this season with average total of 6.67

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Milwaukee Brewers- Run line is 4-0 this season

• Boston Red Sox- Run line is 5-1 this season, 1-1 as a favorite

💪 Bryce Harper’s three homer night gives Phillies win against Reds. Bryce Harper, after a slow start to the 2024 season, quickly turned things around with a stellar performance on a rainy night in Philadelphia. He smashed three home runs, including a dramatic 422-foot grand slam, helping the Phillies secure a victory against the Cincinnati Reds. This remarkable feat marked just the second three-homer game of Harper's career, making him only the fifth Phillies player to achieve this in the 21st century.

😬 Cabrera suspended two games for role in bench-clearing incident. Toronto Blue Jays reliever Génesis Cabrera will begin serving a two-game suspension on Tuesday against the Houston Astros, having appealed MLB's initial three-game ban for his involvement in a benches-clearing incident with the Tampa Bay Rays. Cabrera's absence adds to the bullpen's challenges, with All-Star closer Jordan Romano and setup man Erik Swanson already sidelined due to injuries. Cabrera has struggled early in the 2024 season, giving up four earned runs, including two homers, in just two appearances.

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- What current Cincinnati Reds pitcher was selected second overall in the 2017 MLB Draft?

Question #2- LeBron James won the MVP award in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. Who won the award in 2010?

Question #3- What NHL team has the most Hall of Fame inductees?

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

On April 3rd…

2006- NHL legend Steve Yzerman scores his final NHL goal. The goal came in a contest against the Calgary Flames, giving Yzerman 692 goals for his career. That total moved him into seventh place all-time at that moment, and Yzerman now ranks 10th in the all-time goals list.

2019- San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich is ejected in a 113-85 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Popovich was ejected after receiving two technical fouls, both of which resulted from a verbal confrontation with a referee. His ejection also came just 63 seconds into the game, setting a new NBA record.

2022- The 40th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship is contested between South Carolina and the University of Connecticut. The Gamecocks rolled to a 64-49 victory that day, giving South Carolina its second NCAA title. Aliyah Boston was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

1. Hunter Greene

2. Derrick Rose

3. Toronto Maple Leafs