Happy Thursday everybody! Tyler Sullivan back here again and we'll look to win a little cash somewhere in tonight's slate. I'll be honest, I was pretty eager to get the nod to write up today's newsletter because I need as many things on my plate as possible so I don't jump off into a quarter-life crisis. It's pretty sad that a 28-year-old guy was excited -- possibly even giddy -- about getting the carpets cleaned at his house, but that's exactly where I found myself yesterday.
What's next? Am I going to start yelling at the neighborhood hooligans to get off my lawn, make weird noises when I get up off the couch, or worse ... start rocking Air Monarch IVs? Sheesh. But don't mind me as I do arguably the worst Tom Brady impression of all time as I go through my own battle with Father Time. Let's get to tonight's slate.
- Cowboys' Jerry Jones makes emotional confession about infamous split from Jimmy Johnson.
- Rams legend Eric Dickerson wants L.A. to bring back Todd Gurley.
- Trevor Story getting trade interest from handful of teams.
Alright, let's dive into the action!
All times Eastern, and all odds via William Hill Sportsbook
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Athletics at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Athletics (-140) -- Oakland is simply the better team between these division rivals and will also have a bit of a rest advantage heading into this matchup in Seattle. The Mariners played in Colorado on Wednesday in a game where they needed to lean on their bullpen early.
Meanwhile, the A's enjoyed the day off yesterday and have performed well after getting a night off. Oakland is 10-2 in their last 12 games that followed an off day. They'll also be sending lefty Sean Manaea to the mound to kick off this four-game set. In Manaea's last game against the Mariners in Seattle, he went the distance for a complete-game shutout. Expect similar results tonight.
Key Trend: Oakland is 4-0 in their last four games against the AL West
Here's what SportsLine is saying about the game: SportLine's senior analyst Larry Hartstein is 34-18 in his last 52 money line picks revolving around the Athletics and sees a clear trend heading into tonight's matchup. To see which way he and the rest of the experts are learning, head on over to SportsLine.
💰 The Picks
⚾ Yankees vs. Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Under 9.5 total runs (-110) -- This pick primarily revolves around pitching. Jordan Montgomery is set to take the mound for New York and he hasn't exactly received a ton of run support as of late. In his previous three outings in July, the Yankees have averaged just a single run per game when Montgomery gets the starting nod. Meanwhile, the Under has hit in four of his last five starts.
As for the Red Sox, Tanner Houck is making his third start of the season. He's allowed six runs over his previous two starts but did recently pitch three shutout innings against the Yankees back on July 16 coming in for relief. The Under is also 4-1-1 in the last six meetings between these two AL East rivals.
⚾ Cubs vs. Cardinals, 7:11 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Under 8.5 total runs (-115) -- While the Over has hit in five of their last seven meetings, the Under does trend favorably here for both clubs heading into this divisional showdown tonight. The Under owns a 9-2-1 record in the Cubs last 12 road games when the total is set between 7 and 8.5 runs. Meanwhile, the Under has hit six of the last seven Thursday games for St. Louis.
From a pitching standpoint, both arms can keep the scoring to a minimum. The last time Cards lefty Kwang Hyun Kim squared up against the Cubs, he threw six innings of shutout baseball as St. Louis blanked Chicago in the run column en-route to that win. As for Adbert Alzolay, he's averaging just three runs per start over the month of July. He also pitched well against the Cardinals when he faced them back in May, allowing just two runs over seven innings of work.