Phil Agius
Show Bio
Good morning, Pickswise Nation! Are you ready for some football? There won’t be many starters around as the Jaguars play the Raiders in the Hall of Fame Game, but the NFL is back. We also have a busy MLB slate and PGA Tour golf today, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better!
About Last Night
Mariners sink the Yankees
Wednesday’s MLB slate produced a couple of upsets, with Luis Castillo impressing in his Seattle debut as the Mariners beat Gerrit Cole and the Yankees 7-3, while the Braves lost 3-1 at home to the Phillies. The Pirates beat the Brewers 8-7 in a close one, while the Padres crushed the Rockies 9-1 and the Dodgers shut out the Giants in a 3-0 win. The Pickswise props plays went 2-0 thanks to JutPicks and Mark Zinno both having faith in Twins starter Joe Ryan.
Today’s Slate
NFL action returns in Canton
The NFL is back today, with the Hall of Fame Game between the Jaguars and Raiders on NBC at 8:00 pm ET getting the preseason slate started. Read our Jaguars vs Raiders preview.
13-game slate in MLB
It’s a busier Thursday than we often see in the MLB, with 13 games scheduled now the Cubs and Cardinals are playing a doubleheader after yesterday’s game was postponed. Rockies vs Padres is live on ESPN at 4:10 pm ET, with Rays vs Tigers on FS1 + at 7:10 pm ET. Read today’s MLB game previews.
Final tournament of the PGA Tour regular season
FedEx Cup playoff places are at stake on the PGA Tour this week, and Pickswise golf analyst Diane Knox Balas — who cashed a 14/1 winner with Tony Finau in the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week — has the best bets and expert analysis for the Wyndham Championship.
Best Bet of the Day
MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 vs San Francisco Giants
3:45 pm ET
After last night’s win, the Dodgers are going for their second 4-game sweep of the Giants in their last 4 series. The Dodgers play San Diego in their upcoming weekend series, so closing out this series with a win is important. It’s also likely with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. The Giants have lost one of their better hitters, Darin Ruf, and with Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria still on the injured list, Kershaw should have a great outing. San Francisco is starting Jakob Junis, the last option in the Giants’ starting rotation. With San Francisco all but mailing it in for this finale, expect the Dodgers to win convincingly. Check out our full preview for Dodgers vs Giants.
Must-watch
Enhance your betting knowledge by watching our daily show Let’s Bet It!, available at 10:00 am ET on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise.
Lauren Jbara and Howard Bender are your hosts today and they will be joined by Andrew Cooper, lead NFL analyst for Fantasy Alarm, to discuss the NFC South player prop markets. The team will also give their picks for today’s MLB games and reveal their Plays of the Day.
You can also access LBI shows at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).
Must-read
We’ve got you covered for today’s baseball with our Wednesday mega parlay (+928 odds), today’s YRFI/NRFI best bets and our same game parlays for the Rockies vs Padres and Rays vs Tigers matchups.
Our NFL season preview package is expanding all the time — visit our NFL tab to access it all — with the latest additions being our previews of the NFC East teams, the Commanders, Eagles, Cowboys and Giants. We also have thoughts on some college football win totals, and this week’s Premier Lacrosse League best bets are also available – we’re on an 8-1 run in that weekly article after going 3-0 last week!
There’s always plenty more great betting content on our Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
Only one team (Cowboys, 2017) has reached 20 points in the last 6 NFL Hall of Fame games.
Quote of the Day
“We don’t have time for that. I sent two guys in today. We’ve got to learn as a team how to compete and how to play and how to practice and push ourselves to the limit but not take it over the edge.”
Saints head coach Dennis Allen has had to deal with tempers flaring at training camp.
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