In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of predictions to go around yesterday across the NFL and MLB, with our model focusing in on two of those predictions in our Featured Matchups. Those predictions went 2-0 overall, and you can see how each of the models performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 1-0

Over/Under Predictions: 0-1

Spread Predictions: 1-0

Featured Matchup: 1-0

Money Line Predictions: 5-3

Over/Under Predictions: 4-4

Run Line Predictions: 6-2

Featured Matchup: 1-0

🦅 Eagles beat Vikings, move to 2-0 on season. The Philadelphia Eagles secured a 34-28 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 of "Thursday Night Football". Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, but the Eagles' defense made key stops and their offense controlled possession through running plays. D'Andre Swift shone with a career-high 175 rushing yards, and Jalen Hurts contributed with two rushing touchdowns, highlighting the Eagles' potent ground game. Philadelphia now owns a perfect 2-0 record, while Minnesota fell to 0-2.

🤕 Chargers dealing with boatload of injuries. Chargers' pass rusher Joey Bosa sat out practice for the second day in a row due to a hamstring injury, casting uncertainty over his availability for Sunday's matchup against the Titans. Running back Austin Ekeler, who had an impressive performance in Week 1, also missed practice due to an injury sustained during that game. Additionally, linebacker Eric Kendricks, dealing with a hamstring injury, was absent from practice, and his absence was attributed to personal reasons.

📆 Frank Clark out few weeks with hip injury. Broncos' edge rusher Frank Clark suffered a hip injury during Wednesday's practice and was unable to practice on Thursday. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Clark was initially listed as a limited participant, but is now expected to be sidelined for a few weeks. While the injury isn't deemed serious, his status is considered week to week, resulting in his absence from Sunday's game against the Commanders.

There are 15 MLB games scheduled to take place today, and our model has predictions for all 15 matchups. You can see all of our model predictions below.

Cincinnati Reds @ New York Mets

Model Predicts- Reds ML, OVER 8, Mets +1.5

The Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets will begin a three-game weekend series on Friday night at Citi Field.

Cincinnati enters this one in a heated race for the final wild card spot in the National League, tied with San Francisco and Arizona for the last spot. Meanwhile, the Mets have been long out of playoff contention, but have won three straight games.

The Reds need to turn on the jets in order to secure their spot in the postseason, and our model believes they will walk away victorious today. Let’s dive into why that is and see our model’s best bet for this matchup.

Cincinnati Reds

• 5-5 in last 10 games, 7-6 since September 1st. On outside looking in regarding playoff spot

• Decent offensive numbers this month despite mediocre record

  • Rank 13th in wRC+ (111), 11th in BABIP (.305), and 9th in OPS (.788) since start of September (FanGraphs)

  • 17 homers and 9.7% walk rate in that time- both rank in top half of MLB

• Pitching has struggled this month

  • 5.23 ERA and 5.31 FIP since September 1st. Both rank in bottom 6 of MLB

• May get some relief on mound with Hunter Greene (4-6 record, 4.43 ERA) set to start

  • Struggled in first two starts after returning from IL (18.87 ERA), but has not allowed an earned run in his last 11.1 innings.

  • Ranks in 97th percentile in Fastball velocity (98.5 mph) and 90th percentile in strikeout rate (30.2%). Tough matchup for Mets

New York Mets

• Enter today riding 3 game win streak, led by red hot offense

  • 174 wRC+ in last 3 games- highest in MLB

  • .368 BABIP and 1.010 OPS in same span of games

  • Has led to +19 run differential

• Pitching staff owns 1.67 ERA in last 3 games- third best in majors

  • However, FIP sits at 3.22 in that time, a gap that is likely to close sooner rather than later

• David Peterson (3-8 record, 5.34 ERA) will get start on mound

  • Ranks in bottom 12% of majors in Hard Hit rate (44.8%)

  • Also ranks in bottom 27% in walk rate, average exit velocity, xBA, and xERA (5.25)

  • 5.09 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over last four starts

What’s the Play?

The New York Mets are smoking hot at the plate right now, but we agree with our model that the Reds can win this game on the road.

Greene came out of the gates slow after returning to the mound, but appears to have regained his composure. As previously mentioned, his ERA over the last 11.1 innings is 0.00, and his WHIP in that time is 0.81. He has also struck out 15 batters in that span as well , which is great to see as that is his best trait.

Meanwhile, Peterson can’t seem to keep opposing hitters of the base paths and is constantly surrendering runs, which is bad news against a Reds offense that has performed well this month.

Our model thinks the Reds should be favored with odds around -120, so we’ll take them at -110.

The Play: Reds ML (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Tampa Bay Rays- 91-57 overall this season, 25-16 against division opponents (Play AL East rival Baltimore today)

• Texas Rangers- 82-64 overall this season, 6-0 in last six games

• Cincinnati Reds- 76-72 overall this season, 40-33 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Cleveland Guardians- Under is 84-60-3 this season, highest win percentage in MLB

• Los Angeles Angels- Over is 73-65-9 this season, 35-35-2 as the home team

• Los Angeles Dodgers- Over is 84-53-8 this season, 47-20-4 as the away team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Tampa Bay Rays- Run line is 79-69 this season, 62-60 as a favorite

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

👋 Boston fires Chaim Bloom. The Boston Red Sox parted ways with their chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom following four seasons marked by both highs and lows, including two last-place finishes and a likely absence from the 2023 playoffs. Bloom, who took over in 2019 after the departure of general manager Dave Dombrowski, was known for his methodical and patient approach. However, his tenure faced scrutiny, notably for trading star outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers shortly after joining the team.

🤕 Jasson Dominguez to have Tommy John surgery. Yankees' top prospect Jasson Domínguez is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery next Wednesday. The 20-year-old center fielder's elbow issues became evident when he was scratched from a recent game due to limited swing mobility during batting practice. Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned that the typical recovery time for a position player undergoing this surgery is approximately nine to ten months, but Dominguez must first undergo the procedure before a more specific timetable can be determined.

🧹 Rangers sweep Blue Jays, stay in playoff position. In a critical series during the 2023 MLB regular season at Rogers Centre, the Texas Rangers dominated the Toronto Blue Jays, completing a four-game sweep with a commanding 9-2 victory. The Rangers outscored the Blue Jays 35-9 over the series, moving them into the second wild-card spot while pushing the Blue Jays 1.5 games behind the third wild-card position. The Rangers are now just half a game behind the Houston Astros in the AL West, setting the stage for crucial matchups in the wild-card race and divisional competition ahead.

🔥 Norvell adds fuel to Sanders’ fire. Colorado's upcoming rivalry game against Colorado State is taking a personal turn as Rams coach Jay Norvell poked fun at Deion Sanders for wearing hats and sunglasses during news conferences. In response, Sanders, Colorado's coach, addressed his team, expressing his frustration with the comments and stating that they had turned the game into a personal battle. The rivalry matchup has generated significant attention, including a visit from ESPN's "College GameDay," with Norvell and Rams players participating in on-camera interviews, leading to heightened anticipation for the game.

👨‍⚖️ Arterio Morris has assault case closed. The jury trial for Arterio Morris, a sophomore basketball player at Kansas, has been canceled, and his misdemeanor assault case in Denton County, Texas, has been closed. Initially set for October 2, Morris, who transferred to Kansas from the University of Texas, faced a Class C misdemeanor assault charge related to a June 2022 incident in Frisco, Texas. Morris entered a no contest plea on Thursday, resulting in a fine of $362, while the charge carried potential penalties ranging from probation to up to a year in jail.

📝 NBA updates load management policy. The NBA Board of Governors has approved a new "Player Participation Policy" (PPP) aimed at curbing load management and ensuring that star players participate in more regular-season games. The PPP replaces the previous Player Resting Policy and defines "star" players as those named to the All-NBA or All-Star teams in the last three seasons. It requires teams to make at least one of their elite players available for each game and mandates uninjured, eligible players to suit up for nationally televised games and the new in-season tournament.

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- Which NFL team currently has the longest playoff drought?

Question #2- Kawhi Leonard has played for the Spurs, Raptors, and Clippers in his career, but none of those teams drafted him. Which team selected Leonard in the 2011 NBA Draft?

Question #3- Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson entered the NBA after 4 seasons at the University of Michigan, but played one season at what Division III college before becoming a Wolverine?

Anyone know what has happened on September 15th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On September 15th…

1969- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steve Carlton sets an MLB record by striking out 19 batters. Carlton would only stand alone at the top of leaderboard until 1970 though, the year Tom Seaver tied the record. Today there are three pitchers who broken the record, Max Scherzer, Kerry Wood, and Roger Clemens, all of whom recorded 20 strikeouts in a game.

1996- The Texas Rangers retire #34, which belonged to legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan. It was the first number to be retired in Rangers history, and it would come only three years after Ryan’s retirement. Ryan retired with a 324-292 record and 3.19 ERA, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

2002- Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon throws for 403 yards in a 30-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It marked the 6th consecutive game in which Gannon surpassed the 300 yard mark, tying Steve Young and Kurt Warner for the NFL record. Drew Brees would go on to break the record, reach 300 yards passing in nine consecutive games.

1. New York Jets

2. Indiana Pacers

3. Williams College