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 and making it a 3-star play. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 7-4

Over/Under Predictions: 8-3

Run Line Predictions: 4-7

3-star Predictions: 0-1

💰 Dwyane Wade set to join Chicago Sky ownership group. Three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade is reportedly joining the Chicago Sky’s ownership group, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN. Wade, a native of Chicago, has several ties to the organization, most notably being cousins with former Sky head coach and general manager James Wade. The investment will be the third professional sports team that Wade takes ownership in, joining his stakes in the NBA’s Utah Jazz and the MLS club Real Salt Lake.

💪 Cam Whitmore continues to ball out in Summer League. Former Villanova Wildcat Cam Whitmore was expected to be a top-10 draft pick in June’s NBA Draft, but injury concerns caused the 19-year-old to fall to the 20th pick. The Houston Rockets gladly took Whitmore at that spot, and if Summer League is any indication it appears that the Rockets may have gotten the steal of the draft. Through four Summer League games Whitmore is averaging 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, adding an incredible 3.5 steals per game on top of those numbers in what has been a terrific start to his NBA career.

There are a whopping 18 MLB games scheduled to take place throughout this afternoon and evening. However, due to the many doubleheaders and lines being unavailable at the time the model was run, our model has predictions for 12 of today’s matchups.

San Diego Padres @ Philadelphia Phillies

Model Predicts- Padres ML, Under 9, Phillies +1.5

The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies will face off in Game 1 of a doubleheader this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

San Diego got the better of Philadelphia on Friday night, defeating the Phillies 8-3 after hitting four home runs in the game. However, San Diego is still three games under .500 while Philadelphia enters today’s matchup at 48-42.

This rematch of the NLCS is set to be a fantastic one, with a great pitching battle set to take place between Blake Snell and Ranger Suárez. Will Suárez allow the the Phillies to get back in the win column, or will we see Snell continue his recent run of dominance on the mound and get San Diego closer to the .500 mark?

San Diego Padres

To say the San Diego Padres have had an underwhelming season would be an understatement.

Despite the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. to the lineup and the offseason acquisition of Xander Bogaerts, San Diego ranks just 16th in runs per game (4.49), 26th in BABIP (.278), and 12th in wRC+ (102). This offense has a ton of heavy bats, with Juan Soto and Manny Machado contributing alongside Tatis and Bogaerts, but that has yet to translate to the elite offense that many believed this team would be.

However, we did see flashes of San Diego’s capabilities at the plate last night in the Padres’ 8-3 victory over the Phillies. Tatis, Soto, and Machado all hit a home run in the game, with the trio combining for five of the eight RBIs, and San Diego finished with 11 hits compared to just seven for Philadelphia.

Luckily, even when the offense struggles the Padres have a pitching staff that owns a 3.76 ERA, the sixth best mark in the majors. Blake Snell (6-7 record, 2.85 ERA) will be in charge of maintaining that success on the mound this afternoon, something that he has done very well dating back to the end of May.

Incredibly, Snell has allowed just four earned runs since May 25th, posting a 0.68 ERA in that time. He’s been so dominant on the mound recently that his strikeout rate sits at 40.8% in that stretch, up from his 32.4% season percentage, per Baseball Savant. As a result, Padres opponents are scoring just 2.67 runs per game since May 25th when Snell is the starting pitcher.

Philadelphia Phillies

Despite what many apps indicate, Taijuan Walker will not be the starting pitcher for Game 1 of today’s doubleheader. Following last night’s loss, Phillies manager Rob Thomson stated that the Phillies were going to swap Walker with Ranger Suárez, giving Suárez the start in Game 1.

The switch is an interesting one considering how well Walker has pitched as of late, but Suárez still gives Philadelphia a solid chance to even the series.

Suárez had a stellar month of June, posting a 1.08 ERA across 33.1 innings, per Fangraphs. That stretch was highlighted by a 25.6% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate, and 0.96 WHIP, further showing that the lefty has done a great job at keeping runners off the base paths.

However, Suárez does have concerning numbers in some areas, which could lead to his demise against a power-hitting team like the Padres. Per Baseball Savant, his Barrel rate (8.8%) and xBA (.265) rank him in the bottom 35% of the majors, and his 4.47 xERA is well above his 3.77 season ERA. His ERA in July also comes in at 6.55, well-above his aforementioned 1.08 June ERA.

However, opponents have scored just 3.57 runs per game against Philadelphia since June 4th when Suárez gets the start, so clearly the 27-year-old and his bullpen are doing something right.

What’s the Play?

Last night’s matchup saw the Padres dominate from the third inning on. We don’t think we will see another blowout, but we do agree with our model that the Padres will win Game 1 again this afternoon.

San Diego hit Cristopher Sanchez, a left-handed pitcher, well last night. Hitting lefties well has been a common theme for the Padres this season, batting .250 with a .764 OPS against southpaws, per ESPN. That is much better than San Diego’s numbers against righties, which come in at .229 and .715.

Additionally, San Diego posted a 118 wRC+ against lefties in the month of June, the seventh-best mark in the league. That is a good sign as they go up against Suárez, a guy who is vulnerable to being sized up and is still due for regression even with a rough start to July.

Philadelphia hits lefties well too, but we think Snell’s dominance on the mound can help San Diego create separation today. We’ll back the Padres on the money line at -125.

3-star play: Padres ML (-125)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Arizona Diamondbacks- 52-40 overall this season, 14-10 as a road underdog

• Baltimore Orioles- 55-35 overall this season, , 27-18 as the home team, winners of six straight games

• Houston Astros- 51-41 overall this season, 18-10 against division opponents (Play AL West rival Los Angeles tonight)

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• San Diego Padres- Under is 49-36-6 this season, 23-17-3 as the away team

• Philadelphia Phillies- Under is 46-35-9 this season, 20-14-5 as the home team

• Texas Rangers- Over is 48-36-8 this season, 27-13-6 as the home team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Arizona Diamondbacks- Run line is 52-40 overall this season, 16-8 as a road underdog

• Detroit Tigers- Run line is 48-42 overall this season, 41-35 as an underdog

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

👀 Angels willing to listen to trade offers for Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels have consistently shot down any trade rumors surrounding two-way star Shohei Ohtani, but according to Jon Morosi the Angels are willing to listen to trade offers for Ohtani as the trade deadline approaches. The change in thought comes as the Angels have fallen two-games below .500 and are now 8.0 games back of first place in the AL West and 6.0 games back of the Wild Card. Ohtani has been dominant on the mound and at the plate this season, generating a 3.50 ERA and hitting .303 with 32 home runs, but a finger injury that forced him to leave last night’s game against Houston could complicate things for the next two weeks.

⁉️ Could we see Aaron Judge back in the lineup this month. New York Yankees slugger and 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge has not been in the lineup since suffering a toe injury on June 3rd, but New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said there is a shot that Judge returns to the line up this month. Judge took part in batting practice and ran in the outfield prior to New York’s matchup with the Rockies on Friday, two signs that the outfielder is close to full strength. Judge batted .291 with 19 home runs prior to his injury, and the Yankees have gone 14-18 since his injury.

⚾️ St. Louis interested in Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert. The St. Louis Cardinals have had a season to forget, but that isn’t stopping the team from trying to make moves prior to the trade deadline on August 1st. One player that St. Louis has its eyes on is Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert, who owns a 3.66 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 108.1 inning this season. Gilbert will be a welcome addition to a pitching staff that ranks in the bottom six in Team ERA (4.60) and is set to have three vacant positions in its starting rotation after this season.

😬 Raiders, Josh Jacobs not close on extension. The Las Vegas Raiders and running back Josh Jacobs have been in contract negotiations all summer, but according to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo the sides are nowhere close to an extension. As a result, Jacobs’ status for training camp is up in the air since he has yet to sign his $10.1 million franchise tag. The former University of Alabama star is looking for a big payday after a breakout season in 2022-23, a year in which he led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards.

⛳️ Rory McIlroy takes over top spot at Scottish Open. Despite some struggles on the green, Rory McIlroy (-10) shot a 4-under 66 in Round 2 of the Scottish Open on Friday, putting him at the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend. McIlroy missed nine putts from ten feet or closer in Round 2, with eight of those putts being birdie chances, but still managed to hold off the rest of the field. The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland owns a one-stroke lead heading into Saturday, with Byeong-Hun An, Tyrrell Hatton, and Joohyung Kim all sitting on his heels at 9-under par.

📺 Aaron Rodgers speaks out about New York’s appearance on Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks, an annual documentary series that follows one NFL team throughout training camp, is set to start filming the New York Jets in the coming days. The series often provides NFL fans with excitement prior to the season beginning, but the opposite is true for New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “They forced it down our throat,” Rodgers told KPIX-TV, the price the Jets pay for having so much attention surrounding their upcoming season. The New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, and Chicago Bears were the only other eligible teams for the series in 2023.

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 Baltimore Ravens have had many talented quarterbacks step onto the field during big moments. Which Ravens quarterback is the youngest player in NFL history to start a playoff game, getting the start at just 21 years old?

Question #2- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was arguably the most unstoppable player on the offensive end during his NBA career. His iconic hook shot was his most lethal weapon, a shot that made Kareem nearly impossible to guard in the paint. What was the nickname for Kareem’s hook shot?

Question #3- One Minnesota Twins player miraculously recorded a hit in every MLB game he played in, although he appeared in just 13 games prior to suffering a shoulder injury that ended his MLB career. Who was that player?

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

On July 15th…

1961- Arnold Palmer wins his first of two consecutive Open Championships, defeating Dai Rees by one stroke. Palmer was tied for seventh at 2-under par following the first 18 holes, while Rees was tied for first at 4-under. Palmer would then overtake Rees and the rest of the field after Round 3, tallying a score of 4-under par after 54 holes and eventually getting the victory with the same score. Palmer won the Open Championship in 1962 as well, giving the PGA Tour legend his sixth major victory of his career.

1973- San Francisco Giants star Willie McCovey becomes the 15th player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs in his career in a 12-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCovey’s 400th dinger came in the third inning against Pirates pitcher Bob Moose, and he would go on to hit his 401st career home run just two innings later against Bob Johnson. The star first baseman played 22 MLB seasons, 19 of which were for the Giants, and ended his career with 521 home runs, placing him 20th on the MLB’s all-time list.

2007- The Philadelphia Phillies lose to the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 10-2, becoming the first franchise in major American sports history to record 10,000 losses. Despite the unwanted blemish, Philadelphia would end the 2007 season with the best record in the NL East (89-73), but would lose to the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS. The Phillies would then go on to win the World Series one year later in 2008, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.

1. Lamar Jackson

2. Sky Hook

3. Glenn Williams