Andrew Ortenberg
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The NFL is back and there is also plenty of MLB and college football action to pore over these days, as well. There are a lot of crucial contests coming up, which always attract some big public sides. Let’s take a look at where the public money is going as bettors once again try to beat the ‘books, with the Giants leading the way on Tuesday.
Don’t forget to check out our free picks on the side and total for all of college football’s biggest games this weekend, posted by Wednesday!
MLB: Pirates @ Reds over 9.0
Before we get to the Giants, we’ve got a couple of MLB totals that are getting heavily bet. The first is in this NL Central clash between the Reds and Pirates. A total 90 percent of the bets and 82 percent of the public money are on the over 9.0 here in Cincinnati, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us. Perhaps bettors saw 14 total runs scored in the first game of this series on Monday, and didn’t need to see much more.
The public usually leans toward the over no matter what, and it also probably doesn’t hurt that Mitch Keller is on the mound for Pittsburgh today. Keller has been a train-wreck all season, and enters this one with a 6.14 ERA. Against a Reds offense that’s top 10 in almost every offensive category, we agree that’s a recipe for an over.
MLB: Cardinals @ Brewers over 7.5
That isn’t the only NL Central game where bettors are circling an over. The public also is expecting fireworks in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. 86 percent of the bets and 90 percent of the public money are on the over 7.5 in this showdown with big implications for the NL wild-card race.
Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff has been shaky his last couple times on the mound, giving up 13 hits and seven earned runs across those two outings. The Cardinals are starting Jake Woodford, who has only 6 career mediocre starts under his belt. So again we’ve got to take the over as well here.
MLB: Giants -105 @ Padres
Oddsmakers have this game as virtually even, but bettors clearly don’t think it should be. The line is close to a pick ’em, but 67 percent of the bets and 91 percent of the public money are on the Giants in the opener of this NL West series. The gap between those two percentages indicates that the large volume bets have been on the Giants, as well.
Perhaps sharps are joining the public on San Francisco. This might be a fade of the Padres more than anything else, as San Diego has been a high profile disaster lately. They Padres have been getting a ton of bad press and have lost 8 of their last 10 games. Nobody wants a piece as they circle the drain.
NFL: Most bet sides of Week 2
Unfortunately we don’t have the Week 3 NFL bet splits yet. But we can take a look back at Week 2, and see what the heaviest public sides are. It can be very informative once you learn what kind of spots the average joe is attracted to. Per DraftKings, their 5 heaviest bet NFL sides of Week 2 were: Chiefs -3.5 @ Ravens, Cardinals -3.5 vs Vikings, Broncos -6 @ Jaguars, Bills -3.5 @ Dolphins, and Rams -3.5 @ Colts.
Perhaps not surprisingly, all 5 spots were favorites. Four of them were road favorites. Two of those five teams–the Broncos and Bills–managed to cover their spreads. The public is often drawn toward road favorites, and that’s likely something we’ll be seeing all season.
Don’t forget to check back on our NFL picks tab later in the week for free picks on the side and total of all 16 games.
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