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: 8-6

Over/Under Predictions: 8-6

Run Line Predictions: 7-7

3-star Predictions: 0-1

🤕 Scoot Henderson exits Summer League early with shoulder injury. Scoot Henderson, the No.3 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, exited his Summer League debut against the Houston Rockets with a right shoulder injury. Henderson would not return to the game after going to the locker room, and even despite optimism that the injury isn’t severe, he will undergo an MRI in the coming days, per Chris Haynes. Henderson put up 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists in 21 minutes prior to exiting the contest.

🔥 Jabari Smith lights up Trail Blazers in second half, nails game-winner. Jabari Smith, the No.3 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Auburn, strung together a stellar performance against the Portland Trail Blazers last night in the Summer League. Smith entered the half with just four points on 16.7% shooting, but lit up the scoreboard with 29 points in the second half and the game-winning three-pointer. Smith had his share of struggles during his rookie season, averaging 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, but looks poised to improve on those numbers in his second season.

😬 Wembanyama struggles in Summer League debut. The No.1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, set foot on the court in a Spurs uniform for the first time last night in the Summer League. Unsurprisingly, the arena was sold out for the French phenom’s debut, but Webanyama came up short of the world’s lofty expectations, at least offensively. The 7’3 big man ended the night with just nine points on 15.4% shooting, but made a massive impact defensively with five blocks. The next time we will get to see the Spurs play will be on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

✍️ Will Borgen signs two-year deal with Seattle, avoids arbitration. The Seattle Kraken and Will Borgen have agreed to a new contract before his arbitration hearing, signing the defenseman to a two-year $5.4 million deal. Borgen was a pending restricted free agent and would have had his arbitration hearing later this summer. The 26-year-old is coming off a season in which he tallied three goals and 17 assists in 82 games, also adding one goal and two assists in 14 postseason contests

🐧 Vinnie Hinostroza signs one-year deal with Pittsburgh. Center Vinnie Hinostroza and the Pittsburgh Penguns have reportedly come to terms on a one-year deal worth $775,000, per the Penguins Twitter account. The 29-year-old played just 26 games in the NHL last season with the Buffalo Sabres, collecting two goals and nine assists. Hinotroza also tallied nine total points in 11 contests with the Rochester Americans, Buffalo’s AHL affiliate. Hinotroza was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 169th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, and has also played for the Coyotes and Panthers in his career.

There are 15 MLB games scheduled to take place throughout this afternoon and evening. However, due to lines being unavailable at the time the model was run, our model has predictions for 14 of today’s matchups.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Miami Marlins

Model Predicts- Marlins ML, Over 7.5, Marlins +1.5

The Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins will square off in Game 2 of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon in South Beach.

Miami was in control for much of Friday night’s matchup, owning a 3-1 lead after six innings. However, the Phillies would go on to score three runs in the top of ninth to take the lead and eventually win the game 4-3.

Philadelphia is one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, a result of becoming virtually unstoppable on the road, but our model predicts the Marlins will narrowly win this game. Will we see that come to fruition, or will the Phillies pick up another win against their NL East rival?

Philadelphia Phillies

Last season’s World Series runner-up began the 2023 season with quite a few hiccups, going 15-19 through their first 34 games of the season.

However, the Phillies enter today’s matchup in the midst of a four-game win streak after a 4-3 victory over the Marlins last night, a win that was made possible by a go-ahead two-run home run from Cristian Pache in the top of the ninth.

Perhaps more impressive though is that Philadelphia is 23-9 since June 1st, which includes being a perfect 13-0 on the road since June 13th. In that 32-game span we’ve seen Philadelphia post a 106 wRC+ and .327 BABIP, per Fangraphs, two signs of a clicking offense.

The Phillies have done most of their damage against left-handed pitchers in that time, posting a 122 wRC+, .281 batting average, and .830 OPS, all of which rank in the top-six of the majors over the last five weeks. That momentum is great news for Philly as they will face Braxton Garrett this afternoon, who is a lefty.

Philadelphia will have a lefty of their own on the mound this afternoon in Ranger Suárez (2-3 record, 3.68 ERA). Suárez has calmed things down since allowing 12 earned runs in his first 11 innings of the season, but he still carries a 4.45 xERA which is a mild concern. The southpaw also ranks in the 41st percentile in Hard Hit rate and 29th percentile in Barrel rate, per Baseball Savant, showing that opposing hitters are sizing him up well.

Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are by no means an overpowering offense. TeamRankings has Miami ranked 25th in runs per game (4.16) and 18th in OPS (.723), yet this team owns a 51-39 record and is off to their best start since the late 1990s.

What’s the secret for how they’ve gotten here? Well, simply making contact with the baseball goes a long way.

Despite not generating many runs, Miami ranks third in the majors in batting average at .264. Luis Arraez is leading the charge at .386, and Miami has an additional five hitters who are consistently in the lineup batting .259 or better.

Just like Philadelphia, this team has done a ton of damage against left-handed pitching since June 1st. Fangraphs has Miami listed with a 124 wRC+ and .806 OPS against lefties in that time, ranking the Marlins fourth in both categories. Miami has simultaneously posted a .398 BABIP against lefties since June 1st, the top mark in the major leagues.

As previously mentioned, Braxton Garrett (4-2 record, 3.61 ERA) will get the start today for Miami. Just like Suárez, Garrett is vulnerable to hard contact, posting a 46.4% Hard Hit rate this season. That is up from 38.6% a season ago, per Baseball Savant, and ranks Garrett in the bottom 11% of the majors.

What’s the Play?

Having two left-handed pitchers on the mound today is great news for both teams. With that being said, we believe that Philly and Miami will have a ton of opportunities to pile on the runs this afternoon.

Neither Suárez nor Garrett walk many batters, which on the surface isn’t always the best thing when backing the over. However, the fact that both surrender hard contact in bunches and own a Barrel rate greater than 9.0% certainly leans in the over’s favor.

It took awhile for the runs to come in last night, but given both Philadelphia and Miami’s ability to attack lefties with consistency, we think the total will soar above 7.5. Our model suggests only backing the over if you can grab it at 7.5, but we would personally extend it to 8.

3-star play: Over 7.5 (-115)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Baltimore Orioles- 52-35 overall this season, 26-17 as the away team

• Milwaukee Brewers- 48-41 overall this season, 16-8 against division opponents (Play NL Central rival Cincinnati today)

• Atlanta Braves- 59-28 overall this season, 29-13 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Kansas City Royals- Under is 46-41-2 this season, 26-18-1 as the away team

• Cleveland Guardians- Under is 51-34-3 this season, 29-14-1 as the home team

• Tampa Bay Rays- Over is 50-37-4 this season, 30-17-1 as the home team

Run Line Trends ➕➖

• Texas Rangers- Run line is 53-36 overall this season, 32-26 when favored to win

• Cincinnati Reds- Run line is 56-33 overall this season, 26-11 as a road underdog

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

💪 Alek Manoah puts together solid start in return to majors. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah has had a poor 2023 season, entering Friday’s tilt with the Detroit Tigers owning a 1-7 record and 6.36 ERA. However, the 2022 AL Cy Young finalist appears to have found his old self again, allowing just one run and five hits in 6.0 innings last night. Manoah also struck out eight batters in the game, and it was the first time in his last 27 appearances that he did not surrender a walk. Toronto went on to win 12-2.

🎉 Cubs earn first-ever win in Yankee Stadium with 3-0 victory. Believe it or not, the Chicago Cubs have never won a game inside the walls of Yankee Stadium. That is until last night, a game in which Chicago beat the Yankees 3-0 to snap the 0-12 stretch when playing in the Bronx. Jameson Taillon, a former pitcher for the Yankees, had a stellar outing against his former team, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters in 8.0 innings. The Cubs now sit in third in the NL Central with a 41-46 record.

⬇️ Marlins option rookie pitcher Eury Perez to minors. The Miami Marlins have sent 20-year-old pitching sensation Eury Perez back down to the minors in a shocking move on Friday. According to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, the move was done in order to limit the blossoming star’s reps in the majors, with the hopes of bringing Perez back up to the big leagues later this season. Perez made 11 starts in the majors, posting a 2.36 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 53.1 innings.

🥊 Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic set to step into the octagon in November. UFC stars Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will meet in the heavyweight title fight in the main event at UFC 295, per Dana White on Twitter. The fight will take place on November 11th in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Jones will enter the bout with a 27-1 record in the UFC, most recently defeating Cyril Gane in March. Meanwhile, Miocic has not fought since losing to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in 2021, but the 40-year-old still owns a stellar 20-4 record and will have plenty of time to get ready for what will be a highly anticipated fight.

⛳️ Cameron Young takes the lead at John Deere Classic. 26-year-old Cameron Young shot a 7-under par 64 in Round 2 of the John Deere Classic on Friday. Young now sits at 13-under par for the tournament, two strokes ahead of Brendon Todd, Garrick Higgo, and Adam Schenk at 11-under. He began the day three shots behind Jonas Blixt, who shot 9-under par in the first round, but recorded a birdie or par on 17 of 18 holes today to rise to the top of the leaderboard. Young has six runner-up finishes without a victory in his career, tied for the most in the last 40 years, but the 19th ranked golfer in the world is in a great spot to pick up his first PGA Tour victory this weekend.

😬 Northwestern suspends Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks. Northwestern football head coach Pat Fitzgerald has been suspended for two weeks without pay following an investigation regarding hazing allegations against Northwestern players. According to Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY, the investigation began last December after the university received a complaint about hazing in the team locker room at the Wildcats’ preseason camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In addition to the suspension of Fitzgerald, the team will no longer be able to hold its preseason camp in Kenosha, and the school will institute an independent monitor to the locker room.

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 Heisman Trophy is given out every year to college football’s best player. Normally we see a new face win the award after each season, except in 1974 and 1975 when a player won the Heisman in back-to-back seasons. Who was that player?

Question #2- Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been casuing havoc for opposing defenses for several seasons now. However, there was one Chiefs tight end before Kelce that created even more chaos, eventually going on to set the NFL record for career receiving yards by a tight end. Who was that player?

Question #3- LeBron James was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, but eventually left for the Miami Heat several years later. However, James would return to Cleveland in one of the most anticipated free agent signings ever, taking Cleveland to the NBA Finals several times in his second stint. How many consecutive NBA Finals did LeBron lead the Cavs to after returning to Cleveland in 2014?

Anyone know what has happened on July 8th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On July 8th…

1970- San Francisco Giants third baseman Jim Ray Hart becomes eighth player in MLB history to record six RBIs in one inning. He did this by hitting a bases-clearing triple and a three run home run in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves. Hart would also hit a double and single in the game, making him one of the few players at the time to hit for the cycle.

2010- Paul Goydos becomes the fourth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot 59 in a round. Goydos accomplished the feat during the first round of the 2010 John Deere Classic, a round that included 12 birdies and six pars. He would go on to finish the event in second with a four-round score of 24-under par, two strokes back of Steve Stricker (-26), who was one stroke behind Goydos after Round 1.

2021- San Diego Padres relief pitcher Daniel Camarena hits a grand slam off Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. The grand slam was Camarena’s first major league hit, and he joined Mike Corkins as the only pitchers in Padres history to hit a grand slam. San Diego was down 8-2 before Camarena’s long ball, and the Padres would go on to win the game 9-8.

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1. Archie Griffin

2. Tony Gonzalez

3. 4