Good morning, Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another terrific Thursday of sports. The headline today is simple — football is back! The NFL preseason begins tonight and we also have an exciting MLB slate to enjoy, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine!
About Last Night
Michael Lorenzen throws a No-No!
In just his 2nd start as a Philadelphia Phillie, Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals. His final stat line: 9 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 4 BB and 5 Ks. Philadelphia traded for Lorenzen just a few weeks ago to give a boost to their struggling rotation, and it’s safe to say he’s made a great first impression with Phillies fans. Around the league, the Royals lost with Jordan Lyles on the mound for the 19th time in his 22 starts, the Athletics upset the Rangers and the Astros took down the Orioles once again.
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Today’s Slate
NFL Preseason Week 1
Football is back! Week 1 of the preseason begins today as the Houston Texans and New England Patriots meet in Foxborough and the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks battle it out in the northwest. Check out our NFL preseason Week 1 picks.
Small, yet exciting MLB slate
Thursdays are travel and rest days for a lot of teams as only 8 games are being played today. The Braves and Pirates kick things off with a 12:35 pm ET first pitch and the Rockies and Dodgers conclude the day with a 10:10 pm ET start. Don’t miss our MLB predictions for all 8 games today.
Best Bet of the Day
NFL: New England Patriots +3.5 0ver Houston Texans (-110)
7:00 pm ET
The NFL preseason begins on Thursday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts between the Texans and Patriots. The forecast is expected to be classic New England summer weather – a little humid and rainy. As for the game, the Texans have confirmed that #2 overall pick C.J. Stroud will start and get a decent amount of reps. Houston also announced that they will get a lot of starters in to try and get some chemistry with Stroud. Even with that, it’s worth taking the points with the Patriots. You might not believe this, but Bill Belichick has told the media nearly nothing about their game plan for Thursday’s game. Classic Belichick. But both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe are serviceable quarterbacks and this should be a close game. Read our full Texans vs Patriots predictions.
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Must-read
Football is back, and so are our best bets! Don’t miss our expert’s NFL preseason Week 1 best bets which begin tonight and go through Sunday. We also still have plenty of NFL futures content which includes our Super Bowl picks, Conference winners and player awards, so check out our NFL futures guide to find all of that. Also, there’s still plenty of action on the diamond, so give our +907 MLB mega parlay a read too!
Read all of our sports betting articles as they arrive throughout the morning and afternoon on the Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
In 5 starts since returning, Alek Manoah has limited hitters to a .221 batting average.
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Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, Soccer Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.
