Welcome to another wonderful Wednesday of sports, Pickswise Nation. We have a full MLB slate to entertain us today as we approach the final week of the regular season, and NFL Week 4 is just a day away. Let’s get straight to making your next bet better!
About Last Night
Cardinals and Yankees clinch divisions
With the end of the regular season in sight, only one division title remains in doubt after the Cardinals and Yankees claimed top spot in the NL Central and AL East respectively on Tuesday. The Cardinals beat the Brewers 6-2 to leave Milwaukee fighting only for a wild-card spot. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 5-2 to move 8.5 games clear of Toronto, but Aaron Judge’s wait for his record-breaking 61st home run goes on as he was walked 4 times in the game. The sole undecided divisional race could take a while yet to be settled, with the Mets and Braves locked together in the NL East with 97-58 records. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Mets at -195 odds to win the division with Atlanta at +150.
Today’s Slate
Full slate of Major League Baseball
There are 15 MLB games today, with the Reds and Pirates getting us going at 12:35 pm ET. The Cardinals vs Brewers game is being shown on ESPN+ at 7:40 pm ET, while the Yankees meet the Blue Jays again at 7:07 pm ET. You can read all of today’s MLB predictions.
NFL odds and news
Bengals 4-point favorites for Thursday night
Miami has had the better start to the season at 3-0, but AFC champions the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) are up to 4-point favorites for Thursday Night Football. The Bengals can be taken at -3.5 (-120) at FanDuel, but DraftKings, BetMGM and PointsBet all offer Dolphins backers a 4-point start.
In other NFL news, Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is out for the season after injuring his knee in Monday’s loss to the Cowboys, while the Browns are assessing Myles Garrett’s health after his car accident on Monday, but have not yet ruled him out of Sunday’s game against the Falcons. Jets offensive tackle George Fant (knee) has been placed IR, with poor timing for his team as QB Zach Wilson is expected to return against the Steelers this week.
Best Bet of the Day
MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks vs Houston Astros Under 6.5 runs
8:10 pm ET
There is no confidence in either of these offenses to put up numerous runs against today’s talented pitchers. The Diamondbacks are projected to start Zac Gallen against Justin Verlander of the Astros. Gallen is 12-3 in 29 starts with a 2.46 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. However, he has been even sharper in his last 7 games, going 4-1 with a 1.16 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. Verlander, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award, is 17-4 in 26 starts with a 1.82 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. The Diamondbacks rank in the bottom 3 in average, OBP and OPS over the last 15 days, while the Astros offense is better but inconsistent. Look for a low-scoring game and take the under. Read our full Diamondbacks vs Astros predictions.
Must-watch
You won’t want to miss today’s edition of our daily sports betting show Let’s Bet It! at 10:00 am ET on our YouTube channel at . youtube.com/c/Pickswise
Lauren Jbara and Mark Zinno are your hosts today, and they’ll be joined by special guest Adam Amin (@adamamin), NFL and Chicago Bulls play-by-play announcer, to preview this week’s NFL games. The team will also look at this week’s key college football games and give their best bets for today’s MLB slate before revealing their Plays of the Day.
You can also access the show through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).
Must-read
You can get clued up for today’s baseball with our Wednesday MLB mega parlay and today’s YRFI/NRFI best bets, while our expert golf analyst Diane Knox Balas has this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship predictions.
As for this week’s football, Jared Smith has the best NFL futures picks in Back to the Futures and our TNF same game parlay for the Dolphins vs Bengals game is also available at +981 odds.
Be sure to head over to the Analysis tab for even more great sports betting content as it arrives throughout the day.
Stat of the Day
The Twins have lost all 3 of rookie Josh Winder’s starts this month.
Quote of the Day
“I’ll take four walks for a win every single day.”
Aaron Judge of the Yankees sounds like a team guy as his pursuit of an individual record goes on.
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