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 in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 6-7

Over/Under Predictions: 8-4-1

Run Line Predictions: 6-7

Featured Matchup: 0-1

🐆 Jadeveon Clowney reportedly visits Jaguars. Jadeveon Clowney is potentially returning to the AFC South, with reports indicating he visited the Jaguars on Sunday. This marks his second recent visit, having also received an offer from the Baltimore Ravens just last week. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Clowney spent the past two years with the Browns, recording 2.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, four QB hits, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 2022.

👀 Jonathan Taylor returning to camp this week. Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is set to rejoin training camp this week, confirmed by coach Shane Steichen on Sunday. Steichen mentioned that although the exact return date remains uncertain, Taylor's comeback is imminent. However, Taylor will not immediately resume practice due to an ankle injury that prematurely ended his 2022 season. Despite his return to camp, Taylor still maintains his desire for the Colts to trade him, a request he made during the early stages of training camp after the team declined contract negotiations.

💰 Nick Bosa’s holdout became VERY expensive over the weekend. The cost of Nick Bosa's holdout escalates significantly as he enters the fifth year of his option. Fines for Bosa's training camp absence now amount to $40,000 per day, and as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he can also be fined a regular-season game check for each preseason game missed. With a base salary of $17.859 million, Bosa could face a fine of $992,166 for not participating in Sunday’s preseason game against the Raiders. While the San Francisco 49ers have the option to waive the fines, it could complicate contract negotiations for one of the top defensive players in football.

There are nine MLB games scheduled to take place on this Monday. However, due to lines being unavailable at the time the model was run, our model has predictions for eight of today’s matchups.

Baltimore Orioles @ San Diego Padres

Model Predicts- Orioles ML, Over 8, Orioles +1.5

The Baltimore Orioles will continue their nine-game West Coast road trip on Monday night with a stop in San Diego to take on the Padres.

Baltimore completed its first leg of the road trip over the weekend, taking two of three games against the Seattle Mariners following yesterday’s extra-inning victory.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres enter this series having lost two straight games and seven of their last ten after losing their weekend series against the Diamondbacks.

San Diego hasn’t possessed the ability to string together wins in bunches this season, and our model thinks Baltimore will be able to handle a struggling Padres team tonight. Let’s see why our model believes the Orioles can win a high-scoring game as a road underdog.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the great stories of the 2023 season. Expectations weren’t very high entering the year despite finishing above .500 last season, but Baltimore enters today with a 73-45 record and owns a 3.0-game lead in the AL East.

The recent separation in the standings has come about partially because of the Tampa Bay Rays’ slump, but Baltimore is also doing its part by consistently finding the win column.

The Orioles are a stellar 8-4 since August 1st, ranking in the top half of the majors in wRC+, OPS, and BABIP, per FanGraphs. That level of offense has led to a +15 run differential this month, another sign that the Orioles are firing on all cylinders.

Baltimore has also seen multiple solid showings on the mound, resulting in its starters owning a 3.86 ERA and 3.83 xFIP this month while the bullpen has posted a 2.84 ERA. Grayson Rodriguez (2-3 record, 5.84 ERA) will be in charge of keeping that momentum going this evening.

Rodriguez’s surface-level numbers are rather ugly, with his 5.84 ERA drawing a lot of criticism. However, the 23-year old owns a 3.45 ERA since returning to the majors on July 17th, a sign of significant improvement. Additionally, his xERA comes in at 5.08, showing that more positive regression is on the horizon.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres have all of the talent in the world, yet the team sits well outside of playoff position and enters today’s matchup having lost six of its last seven games.

That seven-game stretch has been quite brutal to witness if you’re a Padres fan. Their last two losses came against the Diamondbacks, who were 8-24 since July 1st before the series began, and San Diego has posted a concerning -18 run differential in that span. To make matters worse, the Padres were 6-2 in the eight games prior to the recent losing stretch and showing some signs of life.

This team is the definition of unpredictable, often putting together stretches of looking like a World Series contender or looking like a team that could get swept by the Oakland Athletics. Today’s starting pitcher, Yu Darvish (8-7 record, 4.19 ERA) is the same way, bringing into question if San Diego can get out of its slump.

Darvish owns a great 2.78 ERA in his last five starts, but the volatility in those contests is at an all-time high for the 36-year-old. Three of those starts have seen him allow zero earned runs, while the nine earned runs he has surrendered have come across just 11.1 innings.

His ERA is also up 1.09 runs from a season ago, largely in part because of his decreased strikeout rate and the 3.0% rise in walk rate.

What’s the Play?

With just 44 games left in San Diego’s regular season, this series is essentially do-or-die in regard to their playoff chances. Maybe that provides a spark to get the Padres back in the win column, but we are leaning towards Baltimore in this one just like our model.

The Orioles would likely be the favorite in this matchup if any other Baltimore starter was on the mound, but Rodriguez’s season-long ERA likely skews things towards the Padres. However, Rodriguez has the second-lowest ERA in Baltimore’s rotation since his return to the majors, which has come about due to a great 57.1% ground ball rate and .269 BABIP.

Rodriguez is a totally different pitcher than he was at the start of the season, and he has a consistent offense and bullpen behind him while Darvish and the Padres are perhaps the most volatile team in baseball. Our model thinks Baltimore should be -115 favorites, so we’ll take the more stable team at +120.

The Play: Orioles ML (+120)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Houston Astros- 68-51 overall this season, 35-25 as the away team

• Seattle Mariners- 63-54 overall this season, 29-26 as the away team, 8-2 in last ten games

• Baltimore Orioles- 73-45 overall this season, 24-18 as a road underdog

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Oakland Athletics- Over is 60-51-7 this season, 34-20-5 as the away team

• Texas Rangers- Over is 57-53-8 this season, 33-21-6 as the home team

• Colorado Rockies- Under is 68-50 this season, 29-26 as the home team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Texas Rangers- Run line is 70-48 overall this season, 29-19 as a home favorite

• Baltimore Orioles- Run line is 73-45 overall this season, 31-11 as a road underdog

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

🤬 Alec Bohm, Rob Thomson ejected after blown strike call. The Philadelphia Phillies fell 3-0 to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, a game marred by contentious strike-three calls from home plate umpire Alex MacKay. A pivotal moment occurred in the bottom of the seventh when MacKay's 3-2 call against Alec Bohm with bases loaded and two outs drew criticism, as a ball call could have scored a run and set up Bryce Harper for a potentially game-changing at-bat. In the eighth inning, MacKay's call against Harper prompted manager Rob Thomson's ejection, highlighting ongoing issues with MacKay's accuracy and consistency.

⏭ Shohei Ohtani to skip next start on the mound. Los Angeles Angels' versatile talent Shohei Ohtani has opted to skip his upcoming pitching start against the Texas Rangers due to arm fatigue, as conveyed to manager Phil Nevin. Nevin clarified that Ohtani is not dealing with an injury and will rejoin the rotation during a home series against the Cincinnati Reds starting on August 21, emphasizing Ohtani’s self-awareness of his body. Despite this, Ohtani contributed to Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros with his 41st home run of the season, the second-most in all of baseball.

🧹 Athletics implode in ninth inning, get swept by Nationals. Jeter Downs concluded a remarkable ninth-inning rally with an RBI single as the Washington Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics, winning 8-7. Oakland closer Trevor May's shaky performance in a non-save situation allowed the Nationals to load the bases and secure their victory with Downs' game-winning hit. This victory marked Washington's third sweep in their recent seven series and showcased their resilience as they overcame a five-run deficit in the ninth, their first such comeback since 2019.

💰 ESPN wanted several billion more from potential betting partner. ESPN's decade-long sports betting deal with Penn National, including cash and stock, holds a value of $2 billion, though reports suggest ESPN initially sought a substantially larger sum. According to FrontOfficeSports.com, ESPN settled for around 50% less than its ambitious $4 billion request over ten years. Despite Penn National not being ESPN's first choice, negotiations with major players like FanDuel and DraftKings fell through, raising questions about the potential underestimation of ESPN's influence by FanDuel and DraftKings, or Penn National's potentially inflated expectations after divesting from Barstool Sports.

⛳️ Lucas Glover wins St. Jude Championship. Lucas Glover faced a challenging finish in Memphis, relinquishing his lead on a scorching Sunday. However, he ultimately secured victory in the FedEx St. Jude Championship by sinking a par putt on the first playoff hole against Patrick Cantlay, marking his second win in as many weeks. This triumph, his sixth overall, propelled him to the fourth position in the FedExCup standings, a remarkable ascent from his position just two weeks earlier. Glover also became the first golfer over 40 to win a FedExCup Playoffs event since Tiger Woods in 2018.

🏀 Kansas lands top basketball recruit. Flory Bidunga, the highly regarded top-ranked center in the 2024 class, has announced his commitment to the University of Kansas. Bidunga made his decision public at the UA Next Elite 24 game in Atlanta, selecting Kansas over Auburn, Duke, and Michigan. The 6-foot-9 player, originally from Congo, praised Kansas for their serious interest in him, their coaching staff's dedication, and their supportive environment. Bidunga's commitment comes after a close race in his recruitment, with Duke initially considered the favorite, but Kansas ultimately securing his pledge.

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 women’s World Cup is still in full swing, with the semi-finals set to begin on Tuesday. Which country has the most women’s World Cup victories?

Question #2- The NBA has seen boatloads of great scorers come through the league, but only two players have averaged more than 30.0 points per game for their career. One is Michael Jordan, but who is the other player?

Question #3- Which athlete holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals won in track and field, and how many gold medals did they win?

Anyone know what has happened on August 14th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On August 14th…

1961- The Philadelphia Phillies fall to the Chicago Cubs by a score of 9-2, handing the Phillies their 17th straight loss. The loss was also the 11th consecutive game in which the opposing pitcher pitched a complete game against Philadelphia, further highlighting the team’s struggles. Philadelphia ended the season with a 47-107 record, posting a -212 run differential along the way.

1987- Oakland first baseman Mark McGwire hits his 39th home run of the season, setting a new rookie record. McGwire burst onto the scene as a power-hitting first baseman, showcasing his remarkable strength and hitting prowess by slugging 49 home runs as a rookie and earning the American League Rookie of the Year award. His remarkable debut season marked the beginning of a successful career, one that would end with 583 home runs.

2021- Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Gilbert throws a no-hitter in a 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Gilbert achieved the rare feat in what was his first ever major league start, striking out five batters along the way. This marked the eighth no-hitter of the 2021 MLB season, and it was particularly notable as Gilbert became the fourth pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in his first career start.

1. United States

2. Wilt Chamberlain

3. Usain Bolt (8)