In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were no model predictions yesterday, Sunday, August 6, 2023.

Money Line Predictions: 0-0

Over/Under Predictions: 0-0

Run Line Predictions: 0-0

3-star Predictions: 0-0

🦅 Eagles sign Myles Jack, Zach Cunningham to one-year deals. The Philadelphia Eagles beefed up their linebacking group on Sunday, signing Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham to one-year, $2.5 million deals, per Adam Schefter. Jack played most of his career as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars before suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, leading the team in tackles with 104 last season. Cunningham spent last season with the Tennessee Titans, but played just six games due to injury. Jack and Cunningham will provide some veteran experience to a relatively young Eagles linebacker room, one that is led by former Georgia Bulldog Nakobe Dean.

💰 Justin Houston agrees to deal with Carolina Panthers. Free agent pass rushed Justin Houston will be taking his talents to Charlotte after signing a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. According to Adam Schefter, Houston’s deal includes $6 million guaranteed and can be worth up to $7 million with incentives. The 34-year-old and four-time Pro Bowl selection most recently played for the Baltimore Ravens, where he tallied 9.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 17 QB hits in 14 games.

✍️ N’Keal Harry joins the Minnesota Vikings. The Minnesota Vikings added another former first-round pass catcher to the roster yesterday signing N’Keal Harry to a one-year deal. Harry joins a receiver room that includes Justin Jefferson, KJ Osborn, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Regaor, likely making touches slim for the former Arizona State Sun Devil. Harry began his career with the New England Patriots before being traded to the Chicago Bears last season, but has only recorded 64 receptions, 715 yards, and give touchdowns in his career.

There are 12 MLB games scheduled to take place this evening. However, due to some gaps in the season data, our model has predictions for 11 of today’s matchups.

Chicago Cubs @ New York Mets

Model Predicts- Cubs ML, Under 8.5, Cubs +1.5

The Chicago Cubs will make their way to the Big Apple to kickoff a three-game series with the Mets on Monday.

Chicago enters this matchup as one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning seven of its last ten games. The hot streak has now pushed Chicago into a tie for second in the NL Central and just 1.5 games back of first place.

Meanwhile, the New York Mets have lost six straight games, tied with three other teams for the longest losing streak in baseball.

These two teams are trending in opposite directions as we enter the final two months of the season, and our model likes that trend to continue this evening as it predicts Chicago to win. Will we see that prediction come to fruition, or can the Mets figure things out and get back in the win column?

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs had been shopping several players prior to the August 1st deadline, but ultimately decided to keep most of the team intact in order to make a playoff push.

That decision appears to have been the right call as the Cubs make their way up the standings, making Chicago a real threat moving forward.

The biggest advantage for Chicago at the moment comes at the plate, which has been vital to turn around its season. According to FanGraphs. Chicago owns a 139 wRC+ and .341 BABIP since the All-Star break, ranking the Cubs No.1 in the majors in both categories. Those numbers have been even better against right-handed pitching, rising to 162 and .371, respectively.

Chicago gets a chance to build on that momentum against right-handed pitcher Kodai Senga this afternoon, who has had just four days of rest since his last start. The short turnaround gives Chicago the upper hand early, and it will likely be a tall task for Senga to slow down a Cubs team that owns a +19 run differential this month.

Drew Smyly (8-7 record, 4.71 ERA) will start for the Cubs this evening. The southpaw has had his fair share of struggles this season, but his 4.08 xERA shows that some positive regression is on its way. Smyly also ranks in the top 21% of the majors in Hard Hit rate and Average Exit Velocity Allowed while posting a 7.0% Barrel rate, meaning that opposing hitters while having trouble sizing him up.

New York Mets

The New York Mets began their demolition shortly before last week’s trade deadline, trading Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and a handful of other skill position players.

The moves show that New York is looking to move in another direction after owning the highest payroll in baseball this season, and if the goal was to lose baseball games then the team is doing just fine.

New York has yet to pick up a win in August, posting an 0-6 record this month. The Mets have been held to three runs or less in five of those six contests, leading to a -23 run differential for perhaps the coldest offense in baseball.

New York’s wRC+ comes in at 63 in that same span of time, further proving the Mets’ issues at the plate. Things have been brutally bad for the Mets against left-handed pitchers during that stretch, a matchup where New York owns a 62 wRC+ and .563 OPS. Smyly is certainly not a huge threat mound, but the numbers indicate another poor showing at the plate is on its way.

As previously mentioned, Kodai Senga (7-6 record, 3.25 ERA) will start for the Mets this evening. Senga has been great since July 1st, posting a 2.48 ERA, but the 30-year-old’s 11.6% walk rate indicates a struggle with his control. He also owns a 3.65 xERA, hinting that some regression could be on the horizon.

What’s the Play?

It’s nearly impossible to trust the Mets at the moment, so we agree with our model that Chicago is in a great position to pick up a win as a road underdog tonight.

Both pitchers are coming off just four days of rest, but the advantage at the plate heavily favors Chicago today. Senga’s lack of control along with the Cubs’ lethal offense against right-handed pitching should allow for Chicago to pile on the runs, while Smyly will likely keep a terrible hitting team in check.

Our model thinks the Cubs should have odds of -110 in this game, so we’ll take them at +100.

3-star play: Cubs ML (+100)

Money Line Trends 💰

• San Diego Padres- 55-57 overall this season, 30-27 as the home team

• Chicago Cubs- 58-54 overall this season, 7-3 in last ten games

• San Francisco Giants- 61-51 overall this season, 3-2 in last five games that Logan Webb starts

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• New York Mets- Under is 61-46-4 this season, 32-15-2 as the home team

• Colorado Rockies- Under is 65-46 this season, 36-20 as the away team

• Texas Rangers- Over is 56-48-8 this season, 15-11-4 against division opponents (Play AL West rival Oakland tonight)

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Cincinnati Reds- Run line is 71-43 overall this season, 24-13 as a home underdog

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

🤕 Josh Jung fractures thumb in win over Miami. Texas Ranger third baseman Josh Jung fractured his thumb while fielding a ball in Texas’ 6-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. The injury occurred in the sixth inning when Jung knocked down a line drive from Jorge Soler, but Jung still managed to convert a double play before being taken out of the game. The rookie has played a rather large role in the Rangers’ success this season, batting .274 with 22 home runs, and will likely leave a hole in the lineup until he returns.

💪 Astros activate José Urquidy from the IL. Houston Astros pitcher José Urquidy was activated from the 60-day IL on Sunday afternoon, starting his first game since April 30th in a 9-7 win over the New York Yankees. Urquidy clearly had some rust to knock off, allowing five earned runs, three hits, and three walks in 3.1 innings before handing things off to J.P. France. Luckily the Houston bats got going early, scoring five runs in the first three inning before piling on four more in the sixth. Urquidy is now 2-2 on the season with a 6.10 ERA.

⛳️ Lucas Glover wins Wyndham Championship. 43-year-old Lucas Glover took home the victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, beating Byeong-Hun An by two strokes. Glover began the event with a 4-under 66 in Round 1 on Thursday, and would go on to shoot as low as 62 on Saturday before sealing the deal with a 68 on Sunday. The victory was the fifth Tour win of Glover’s career and marked his fourth top-10 finish in his last five starts, simultaneously propelling him to 49th in the FedEx Cup standings.

🐧 Penguins trade for Erik Karlsson in three-team deal with Sharks and Canadiens. The Pittsburgh Penguins made a massive splash on Sunday, completing a trade that secured them Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks. San Jose received forward Mikael Granlund, defenseman Jan Rutta, and a 2024 first round pick in return for the Norris Trophy winner, while Montreal received three players and a 2025 second-round pick. Karlsson, who had been with the Sharks since 2018, led all defenseman last season with 25 goals and 101 points, likely giving Pittsburgh a big boost on both ends of the ice.

🗽 New York Liberty DESTROY Las Vegas Aces. The New York Liberty defended their home court in epic fashion on Sunday, defeating the Las Vegas Aces 99-61. Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 31 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, with Breanna Stewart collecting 23 points and six rebounds. All five of New York’s starters ended the game with double figure points, allowing the Liberty to move to 22-6 on the season and maintain control of first place in the Eastern Conference.

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 Utah Jazz joined the NBA in 1974 as an expansion team, but did not move to their current home in Salt Lake City until 1979. What city did the Jazz call home for their first several seasons?

Question #2- Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is mostly known for his time as a Green Bay Packer, but the Favre actually began his Hall of Fame career with another franchise. What team did Favre play on in his first season?

Question #3- Only one Toronto Blue Jays pitcher has thrown a no-hitter in the franchise’s history, which came in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians in 1990. Who was that pitcher?

Anyone know what has happened on August 7th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On August 7th…

1960- American golfer Arnold Palmer defeats Jack Fleck and Bill Collins at the Insurance City Open. Palmer staged quite the comeback to win the event, erasing a five-stroke deficit to force a playoff. The victory was the 20th for Palmer on the PGA Tour, and he would go on to end his career with 62 Tour wins (5th-most all time)

1992- The Orlando Magic sign Shaquille O’Neal, who the team selected with the No.1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. Shaq would suit up for Orlando from 1992-1996, winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award in his first season and taking home his first scoring title following the 1994-95 season. He would then go on to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the 1996 season, and would also play for the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics in his career.

2007- Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run in a 8-6 loss to the Washington Nationals. The homer came in the fifth inning against Washington pitcher Mike Bacsik and broke a tie with Hank Aaron to catapult Bonds to the top of the all-time home runs list, which is where he still sits to this day after ending his career with 762.

1. New Orleans, Louisiana

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Dave Stieb