In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of predictions to go around yesterday across the NBA and MLB, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions and making it a 3-star Play. That prediction went o-1 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

3-star Predictions: 0-1

Money Line Predictions: 5-0

Over/Under Predictions: 4-1

Run Line Predictions: 1-4

3-star Predictions: 0-0

1️⃣ Nuggets defend home court, go up 1-0 in NBA Finals. After more than a week of rest, the Denver Nuggets took care of business in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, defeating the Miami Heat 104-93. Of course, the Heat are coming off an intense seven-game series against the Celtics, but there was clearly more fatigue than expected as the Heat were held to 22 points or less in each of the first three quarters. Bam Adebayo did his best to keep Miami within striking distance with his 26 points, but another triple-double from Nikola Jokic and 27 points from Jamal Murray proved to be too much to overcome down the stretch. Game 2 will be played on Sunday in Denver, where the Nuggets are a perfect 9-0 this postseason.

⏱ Decision on Ja Morant to come after NBA Finals. If you recall, Ja Morant was suspended for eight games by the Grizzlies during the regular season for flashing a gun in a video on social media. Well, the superstar did the exact same thing just a few weeks ago, leading Memphis to suspend Morant from all team activities for the foreseeable future. Morant’s second slip-up has also forced the NBA to become more involved in the discipling of the All-Star, which sources have said could led to a suspension equivalent to half of the regular season.

🏥 Patrick Kane undergoes surgery. New York Rangers star Patrick Kane underwent hip surgery on Thursday. Kane’s recovery timeline currently sits at 4-6 months, which would put Kane back on the ice between October and December, barring any setback along the way. The 34-year-old played his entire career with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to New York at the trade deadline, scoring 21 goals and dishing out 36 assists last season. Kane is also an unrestricted free-agent after finishing up an 8-year contract in 2023, but his surgery could complicate contract talks in the coming months.

🐧 Pittsburgh hires Kyle Dubas. Several vacant front office positions are starting to be filled, with the Pittsburgh Penguins being the most recent team to begin adding new members. Pittsburgh hired former Toronto Maple Leafs executive Kyle Dubas as its President of Hockey Operations, hoping that Dubas can lift the Penguins back to the postseason after coming up short in the 2022-23 season, the first time the Penguins missed the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season. Toronto posted a 221-109-2 record while Dubas was with the team.

There are 15 MLB games scheduled to take place this evening, which is great news since there is no basketball or hockey. However, due to some gaps in the early season data, our model has predictions for nine of today’s matchups.

Oakland Athletics @ Miami Marlins

Model Predicts- Marlins ML, OVER 8.5, Athletics +1.5

The Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins will kickoff a three-game series on Friday night in South Beach.

Oakland has had an abysmal season up to this point, winning just 12 games and losing 46. However, two of those wins have come in Oakland’s last three games against the Atlanta Braves, the current No.1 team in the NL East.

Miami has had a much better season when compared to Oakland, entering today with a 29-28 record. The Marlins have also won four of their last six games.

There is no question who the better team is here, but today’s matchup on the mound could make things a little dicey for both teams. Will that allow for Oakland to get in the win column for the third time in the last four games, or will we see Miami start this series with a win over an inferior team?

Oakland Athletics

What the Oakland Athletics are doing in the 2023 season is amazing, and not in a good way.

As previously mentioned, Oakland enters today with just 12 wins, five fewer wins that the next closest team and only one of two teams to be below 20. The Athletics also own a -195 run differential, 125 runs worse than the next closest team in the majors and 326 runs worse than the top team in their division (Rangers).

The poor hitting attack, one that ranks last in the league in runs per game with 3.45, plays a big role in that differential. However, the pitching staff is what has plummeted Oakland to the basement of the MLB.

According to TeamRankings, the Athletics own a 6.63 Team ERA, up from 4.53 a season ago. That ERA is 1.28 runs worse than the next closest team (White Sox), and the bullpen’s 6.23 ERA shows that there is zero stability on the mound at any point over a nine inning contest.

Shintaro Fujinami (2-5 record, 12.00 ERA) will get the start today, but he is going to be used as an opener and then turn things over to Hogan Harris in the second or third inning. Still, things can go south at any moment when Fujinami is on the bump, as evidenced by allowing 24 earned runs in the first 15.0 innings he pitched in 2023. He has been used out of the bullpen ever since.

Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins own a -54 run differential in 2023, yet are still one game above .500 and only 4.5 games back of first in the NL East. However, just like their record indicates, the Marlins are relatively average at just about everything.

Miami enters today ranked 21st in OPS and 28th in runs scored per game, two metrics that don’t exactly equate to a great offense. However, the Marlins do rank within the top ten in both hits per game (8.6) and batting average, showing that they can put themselves in a position to pile on the runs.

The problem is that Miami often leaves runners stranded on base, 6.93 per game to be exact. That ranks 19th in the MLB this season, so the Marlins will need to execute their offense much better in the future to make any sort of run at the division title.

Miami could also use some more consistency on the mound, which Edward Cabrera (3-4 record, 5.02 ERA) is tasked with doing today.

The 25-year old is consistently hit around by opposing batters, allowing at least three earned runs in five of his last seven starts. That is largely because of Cabrera’s 8.5% Barrel rate and 42.6% Hard Hit rate, per Baseball Savant, showing that he is easily sized up.

Cabrera also struggles with his control, walking 15.1% of hitters he faces. That ranks in the bottom 5% of the MLB in 2023.

What’s the Play?

The battle on the mound is the biggest factor in any MLB game, and today’s matchup between Fujinami/Harris and Cabrera presents a great opportunity for runs to be scored.

Fujinami is one of the worst pitchers in baseball. He ranks in the bottom 4% of the MLB in walk rate (15.7%), and his 92.7 mph Average Exit Velocity Allowed ranks in the bottom 3%. Even though he will only be on the mound for a short time, it gives Miami’s top of the order a great chance at scoring in bunches.

Oakland won’t be in the clear though once Harris comes in. Harris has only pitched 5.1 innings this season, allowing six earned runs in that time. All six runs came on April 14th against the Mets, a game in which Harris recorded just one out.

Additionally, being left-handed hasn’t worked out for many pitchers when facing Miami, which is what Harris is. ESPN has the Marlins listed with a .297 batting average and .798 OPS against lefties this season, so Miami will have a great chance to score against both of Oakland’s pitchers.

The Marlins have the advantage here, but Cabrera isn’t exactly the most reliable on the mound. Our model projects just over nine runs to be scored and gives the over a 54.12% chance of hitting, splits we are comfortable with for a 3-star play.

3-star play: Over 8.5 (-120)

Money Line Trends💰

• Miami Marlins- 29-28 overall this season, 15-13 as the home team

• Los Angeles Angels- 30-28 overall, 13-12 as an underdog

• Atlanta Braves- 33-23 overall this season, 18-9 as the away team

Over/Under Trends⬆️⬇️

• Oakland Athletics- Over is 30-25-3 overall, 16-10-1 as the away team

• Philadelphia Phillies- Under is 29-23-4 overall, 17-13-2 as the away team

• Texas Rangers- Over is 31-22-2 overall, 16-6-2 as the home team

Run Line Trends➕➖

• Washington Nationals- Run line is 35-21 overall, 14-14 as the home team

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

🥳 Dusty Baker reaches another milestone. Houston Astors manager Dusty Baker keeps moving up the all-time wins list. Houston’s 5-2 win over the Angels last night gave Baker his 2,126th career win, moving him into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time list. He has been in the MLB as a player and manager since 1968 when his playing career began with the Atlanta Braves, and has been the skipper for the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals, and Astros in his career.

🤕 Chris Sale to undergo MRI on shoulder. Chris Sale was forced to leave Boston’s game against the Reds on Thursday night with apparent soreness in his left shoulder. Boston was hesitant to say how severe it thought the injury was, but Sale will undergo an MRI today that should provide a clearer picture of the left-hander’s status moving forward. The 34-year-old owns a 5-2 record and 4.58 ERA this season, but saw his ERA dip to a terrific 2.42 in the month of May.

💎 Kevin Gausman pitches gem against Milwaukee. Kevin Gausman was nearly untouchable in Toronto’s 3-1 win over Milwaukee yesterday afternoon. The 32-year-old pitched 6.2 innings in yesterday’s outing, allowing five hits, zero runs, and striking out 11 batters. It was Gausman’s fifth start of the year in which he struck out at least ten batters, giving him 100 punch outs for the year. That is the most in the American League in 2023.

🤕 Alec Bohm lands on the IL. Phillies third/first baseman Alec Bohm was placed on the 10-day IL due to a strained left hamstring. The injury doesn’t appear to be severe, but Phillies manager Rob Thomson says the team would like “to take care of it and knock it out”. Philadelphia was already quite thin at the corners due to the absences of Rhys Hoskins and Darick Hall, and now perhaps their best player at those positions will join them on the shelf. Bohm was having a great year at the plate too, hitting .265 with six home runs and 37 RBIs, the most RBIs on the roster.

👀 C.J. Stroud garnering early praise from Texans. The Houston Texans used the second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft on Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, and it appears that Houston is very happy with that selection so far. Head coach DeMeco Ryans is quoted as saying that Stroud is “progressing in the right direction”, adding “the sky is the limit” for the former Buckeye. Stroud took over the first-team reps from Davis Mills the week, who was Houston’s starting signal caller in 2022.

💪 Tony Pollard could be back in action shortly. Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is recovering from a procedure on his tibia and fibula, but the 26-year-old appears to be close to full strength. “Honestly I feel faster,” Pollard said, “I just feel like I got a lot of juice in me left”, per Todd Archer. Ezekiel Elliott is no longer a member of the Cowboys, leaving Pollard with sole control of the backfield after putting up 1,007 rushing yards last season.

Today’s trivia is going to be a little different. We are going to list the year, round, pick number, and team that selected a player in the NBA or NFL draft, and you have to guess who the player is.

Player 1- 1990 / Round 1/ Pick 2 / Seattle SuperSonics

Player 2- 2004 / Round 1 / Pick 18/ New Orleans Hornets

Player 3- 2014 / Round 2 / Pick 41 / Denver Nuggets

Player 1- 1990 / Round 7 / Pick 192 / Denver Broncos

Player 2- 2001 / Round 1 / Pick 5 / San Diego Chargers

Player 3- 2007 / Round 1 / Pick 3 / Cleveland Browns

Anyone know what has happened on June 2nd throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but that’s because it might be one of the slower days we have had in sports. Maybe some history will be made today.

On June 2nd…

1935- Babe Ruth announces his retirement from baseball at the age of 40. Ruth began his legendary career with the Boston Red Sox in 1914, but was a member of the New York Yankees for the majority of his time in the big leagues. He was most known for his power at the plate, but Ruth was also a star on the mound. By the end of his career he would hit 714 home runs, the third most in MLB history, and also become the first player to hit 100 home runs and strikeout 500 batters as a pitcher.

1987- The Seattle Mariners draft Ken Griffey Jr. with the No.1 overall pick of the MLB Draft. Griffey Jr. made his debut for the Mariners in 1989, and would play for the team until 1999 before becoming a member of the Cincinnati Reds and later the Chicago White Sox. Griffey Jr. was a stud in every aspect of the game, winning ten Gold Gloves, seven Silver Slugger Awards, and being selected to the All-Star game 13 times. He achieved baseball immortality in 2016 when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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NBA Answers

1. Gary Payton

2. J.R. Smith

3. Nikola Jokic

NFL Answers

1. Shannon Sharpe

2. LaDainian Tomlinson

3. Joe Thomas