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: 7-8

Over/Under Predictions: 9-6

Run Line Predictions: 7-8

3-star Predictions: 0-1

🏜 Phoenix trades Cameron Payne, will sign Bol Bol. The Phoenix Suns, who have already made some big moves this offseason, are trading Cameron Payne, a second round pick, and cash to the San Antonio Spurs for a future second-round pick, per Adrian Wojnarowski. Payne, who was drafted 14th overall by the Thunder in 2015, played four seasons with the Suns, averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. Phoenix will also sign former Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets big man Bol Bol to a one-year deal, one that is fully guaranteed.

⛳️ Steph Curry wins American Century Championship. When Steph Curry isn’t draining three-pointers on the basketball court, he’s busy draining putts on the golf course. Curry took his athletic talents to the American Century Championship in Stateline, Nevada over the weekend, a celebrity golf tournament held at Lake Tahoe, where he beat out a loaded field that included former tennis player Mardy Fish and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Curry, who showed off his talents with a hole-in-one on Saturday, became just the second pro basketball player to win the event, joining Vinny del Negro (2021).

✍️ DeAndre Hopkins signs with the Titans. Five-time Pro Bowler and free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will reportedly sign a two-year contract with the Tennessee Titans, per Dianna Russini of ESPN. Hopkins’ contract is worth $26 million with a $12 million base salary in year one, but the wideout can earn up to $32 million with incentives. Hopkins, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals in May, had made free-agent visits with the Titans and Patriots earlier in the offseason, and now will provide a huge boost to a Titans offense that ranked 30th in passing yards per game last season.

🐆 Evan Engram staying with Jacksonville. According to Adam Schefter, the Jacksonville Jaguars and tight end Evan Engram have come to terms on a three-year $41.25 million contract. The deal includes $24 million that is guaranteed, and Engram’s $13.75 million average annual salary now ranks sixth among tight ends. The payday comes after Engram, who was drafted 23rd overall in 2017 by the New York Giants, posted 73 receptions and 766 yards last season, both of which were career highs.

❌ Tony Pollard, Dallas not expected to reach extension. The Dallas Cowboys and running back Tony Pollard are not expected to reach an extension prior to Monday’s deadline. Dallas placed the franchise tag on Pollard in March following a season in which he tallied 1,378 total yards and 12 touchdowns, meaning he will make $10 million next season. The 26-year-old is expected to take over the No.1 spot in Dallas’ backfield this season after the Cowboys released Ezekiel Elliott.

There are ten MLB games scheduled to take place on Monday, a slightly smaller slate than we are used to seeing. However, due to gaps in the season data and lines being unavailable at the time the model was run, our model has predictions for eight of today’s matchups.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Baltimore Orioles

Model Predicts- Dodgers ML, Under 9.5, Dodgers -1.5

The Los Angeles Dodgers will continue their nine-game roadtrip on Monday evening, stopping in Baltimore to take on the Orioles in a three-game series.

Los Angeles has played great baseball in the month of July, winning seven of their 11 contests. That includes going 6-1 across the last seven games, with the one loss coming in extra innings against the Mets on Sunday.

Baltimore is just as hot, entering today on an eight-game win streak.

It’s always a fun battle when two of the best teams in baseball go head-to-head, but our model leans heavily in the Dodgers’ favor this evening. Will we see that prediction come to fruition, or will the Orioles extend their win streak to nine games?

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball as of late, and the hot streak can be attributed to the Dodgers’ consistency at the plate.

Los Angeles is 6-1 dating back to July 5th, posting a 137 wRC+ in that time, the fourth-best mark in the MLB according to Fangraphs. That number has come about despite L.A.’s .250 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in that same timeframe, showing that the Dodgers have actually experienced some bad luck at the plate while still winning games.

The general improvements at the plate have led to a +26 run differential in the last seven games, with last night being the only game that the Dodgers scored fewer than five runs.

The pitching staff has done its part over the last several games as well, posting a 2.43 ERA and 3.19 FIP since July 5th. Emmet Sheehan (2-0 record, 4.36 ERA), a rookie, will be in charge of maintaining those numbers as this evening’s starter.

Sheehan’s 4.36 ERA may raise some eyebrows, but that number is up against a 3.26 xERA (expected ERA), per Baseball Savant. He has pitched much better than the surface-level numbers indicate, and his stellar .183 xBA (expected batting average) further indicates that he has been solid on the mound.

Baltimore Orioles

It is tough to find anything bad to say about this Orioles team. Baltimore’s recent eight-game win streak has catapulted the O’s up the AL East standings, with the team now sitting just one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the division lead.

Just like Los Angeles, Baltimore’s recent run of wins began back on July 5th with a 6-3 win over the Yankees. The Orioles have not slowed down since that win, posting a 147 wRC+ and .330 BABIP during the win streak, putting them in the top-three of the MLB in both categories.

That level of fire power at the plate has led to a +40 run differential in the last eight games.

However, Baltimore could find itself in trouble this evening due to Grayson Rodriguez (2-2 record, 7.35 ERA) getting the start on the mound.

Rodriguez has not pitched in an MLB game since May 26th due to being sent down to Triple A after some early-season struggles. His demotion to the minor leagues came about because of opposing hitters’ ability to size him up, resulting in a 12.7% Barrel rate, 53.0% Hard Hit rate, and .290 xBA, per Baseball Savant. He ranks in the bottom 5% of the MLB in all three categories.

What’s the Play?

What Baltimore has done over the last few weeks has been rather impressive. However, not all of the wins have come easy, with Baltimore needing a comeback win on Saturday and barely hanging on to win yesterday against Miami.

The Orioles have shown some flaws on the mound in the last two games, and Rodriguez certainly doesn’t put them in a position to clean things up despite a good showing in Triple A (1.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP). The offense will likely have to do a lot of damage today, which it is capable of doing, but Sheehan has proven to be a weapon on the mound for L.A.

Our model thinks the Dodgers should be much heavier favorites here, giving them odds of -166. So, we’ll take the Dodgers on the money line at -105.

3-star play: Dodgers ML (-105)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Los Angeles Dodgers- 53-39 overall this season, 24-23 as the away team, 6-1 in last seven games

• San Francisco Giants- 52-41 overall this season, 26-19 as the away team, enter today on five-game win streak

• Los Angeles Angels- 46-48 overall this season, 24-22 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Miami Marlins- Under is 47-44-4 this season, 23-23-1 as the away team

• Kansas City Royals- Under is 49-43-2 this season, 11th best win percentage in MLB

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Los Angeles Dodgers- Run line is 51-41 overall this season, 28-19 as the away team

• Washington Nationals- Run line is 52-41 overall this season, 32-14 as a road underdog

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

🔥 Baltimore stays hot, wins eighth straight game on Sunday. The Baltimore Orioles continued their hot streak on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-4. Baltimore held Miami scoreless through eight innings, but four runs in the top of the ninth made things interesting down the stretch. The win was the eighth straight victory for the Orioles, who have posted a +40 run differential in that time, and Baltimore is now 57-35 on the season and sits just one-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

⁉️ Have we seen the last of Clayton Kershaw? Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who is currently on the IL with shoulder inflammation, has hinted that the 2023 season could be the last of his career. “I’m weighing a lot of factors,” Kershaw said, per Bob Nightengale. “It might take a few months after the season to make a decision.” Kershaw currently owns a 10-4 record and 2.55 ERA in 2023, but the 35-year-old has not made more than 22 starts in a season since 2019 due to persisting injuries.

📖 Gerritt Cole enters the Yankees record books. New York Yankees pitcher Gerritt Cole made history on Sunday, passing Ron Guidry for the most double-digit strikeout games in franchise history. Cole collected 11 strikeouts across 6.0 innings on Sunday in his start against the Colorado Rockies, grabbing his 24th double-digit strikeout performance since joining the Yankees in 2020. The right-hander is in the midst of another terrific season in 2023, posting a 9-2 record and 2.78 ERA.

🏆 Rory McIlroy wins Scottish Open. Northern Ireland’s finest, Rory McIlroy (-15), shot a 2-under par round on Sunday to win the Scottish Open, defeating Robert MacIntyre by one stroke. MacIntyre posted a 6-under par round on Sunday to make things interesting at the top of the leaderboard, but McIlroy would go on to birdie three of the final five holes to secure his second win of the season. The victory was also the 24th of McIlroy’s career, and he simultaneously became the first golfer to ever win the Scottish Open, Irish Open, and Open Championship.

✍️ Coyotes sign Matias Maccelli to three-year deal. The Arizona Coyotes and winger Matias Maccelli have reportedly come to terms on a three-year deal that will pay the 22-year-old $3.425 million annually, per Craig Morgan. Maccelli, wo was drafted 98th overall by Arizona in the 2019 NHL Draft, finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting last season, the award given to the league’s best rookie. He led all rookies in assists with 38 and finished second in points with 49 despite playing in just 64 games.

🎾 Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon title. 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz took down seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday, giving the Spaniard his first Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam trophy. Alcaraz strung together a dominant performance down the stretch after a rough start, beating Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. The loss prevented Djokovic from winning his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title.

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- Tom Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, but like many others began his professional career as a backup. What quarterback did Brady replace in 2001, the same year he led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory?

Question #2- The Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, were the more most dominant NBA team throughout the 1990’s. How many NBA championships did Chicago win in that decade?

Question #3- Nashville, Tennessee was awarded an NHL expansion team in 1998, one of four expansion teams to be created from 1998-2000. The franchise would later become known as the Predators, with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild also entering the NHL during that timeline. What was the name of the fourth expansion team?

Anyone know what has happened on July 17th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On July 17th…

1974- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson records his 3,000th strikeout against the Cincinnati Reds, punching out Cesar Geronimo in the top of the second inning. He became the second pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone, joining Walter Johnson on the list, who crossed the 3,000 strikeout mark more than 50 years earlier. Gibson played his entire career with the Cardinals, earning nine All-Star selections, two World Series victories, and 3,117 strikeouts, which ranks him 16th on the all-time list.

1979- English distance runner Sebastian Coe sets a new world record in the mens mile, completing the race in three minutes and 49 seconds. Coe is one of the greatest middle distance runners the world has ever seen, with his talent allowing him to set nine indoor and outdoor track world records in his career. One of those records, his 800 meter run record of 1:41.73 from 1981, would remain the fastest time ever until 1997, further proving Coe’s dominance on the track. He would also win four olympic medals in his career, two gold and two silver.

2022- Australian golfer Cameron Smith wins the British Open by one stroke over American Cameron Young, giving Smith his first major title. Smith was tied for third with Young at 12-under par after 54 holes, trailing Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy by four strokes. However, an 8-under par round 64 on Sunday catapulted the Aussie to the top of leaderboard, giving him a $2.5 million payday in addition to his first major win.

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1. Drew Bledsoe

2. 6

3. Atlanta Thrashers