Armadillo Sports

First week of exhibition games aren’t that meaningful, at least the final scores aren’t. Guys are trying to earn jobs; that is significant.

— Steelers 31, Jaguars 25
Steelers’ backup QB Thompson was 20-28/233 passing, with three TD’s.
Jaguars’ kicker Cam Little made a 70-yard field goal; would’ve been a record, if this was a regular season games.
Rookie Travis Hunter plays 10 snaps on offense, 8 on defense.

— Giants 34, Bills 25
Rookie QB Jaxson Dart was 12-19/154 passing, in his NFL debut.
Giants were 9-19 on third down with four different QB’s playing.
Graham Gano kicked three FG’s, including two 50-yarders.

— Rams 31, Cowboys 21
#3 QB Stetson Bennett was 16-24/188 passing, with two TD’s.
Blake Corum ran for a TD on each of the Rams’ first two drives.
Former Patriot Joe Milton was 17-29/143 passing for Dallas.

— Vikings 20, Texans 10
QB McCarthy was 4-7/30 passing in his first action since LY’s knee injury.
Total yards in game: Minnesota 261, Houston 194
Vikings’ WR Rondale Moore hurt his knee; it looked like a serious injury.

— Buccaneers 29, Titans 7
Rookie QB Ward was 5-8/67 passing in his NFL debut.
Bucs dominated early; at one point, total yardage was 143-5, Tampa Bay.
Tampa RB Wright ran ball 18 times for 87 yards and a TD.

— Jets 30, Packers 10
Jets scored defensive TD early in 2nd quarter to grab 14-3 lead.
Packers later fumbled a punt, setting up a short Jets’ FG.
Impressive display by Jets; total yardage was 403-157.

— Cardinals 20, Chiefs 17
Jacoby Brissett threw two TD passes for Arizona.
Mahomes threw one pass; it was a one-yard touchdown.
Harrison Butker kicked a 58-yard FG for Kansas City.

— Broncos 30, 49ers 9
49ers led 9-0 early, getting a safety on an intentional grounding call.
Denver led 20-9 at halftime; Jarrett Stidham threw two TD passes.
Starting QB Brock Purdy didn’t play for the 49ers.

— Famous birthdays, August 10th:
Rosanna Arquette, 66
John Starks, 60
Gino Torretta, 55
Sal Fasano, 54

Angie Harmon, 53
Dan Johnson, 46
Dalvin Cook, 30
Ja Morant, 26

— Seattle Mariners retired Ichiro Suzuki’s #51 before their game Saturday night. Suzuki was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame couple weeks ago- he hit .311 in his MLB career, with an OPS of .757 and 1,420 runs scored.

— Reds 2, Pirates 1
Nick Martinez allowed only six baserunners in 7 IP.
Noelvi Marte went 3-4, with three doubles.
Reds have scored 2 or fewer runs in 40 games this year, including the last four.

— Braves 7-8, Marlins 1-6
Hurston Waldrep allowed one run in 6 IP in the opener.
Miami led 4-0 in the nightcap, but Marcell Ozuna hit two homers.
Marlins have lost five of their last seven games.

— New York 5, Houston 4
Trent Grisham hit the game-winning HR in the 8th inning.
Giancarlo Stanton played RF, his first game in the field in two years
Astros are 10-17 in their last 27 games.

— A’s 11, Orioles 3
Shea Langeliers went 3-4 with a homer and three RBI.
Brent Rooker went 2-5 with a homer and four RBI
A’s are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.

— Brewers 7, Mets 4
Milwaukee scored four runs in the bottom of the 7th.
Brewers have now won eight games in a row.
Mets have lost 10 of their last 11 games.

— Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 5
Lourdes Gurriel hit a walk-off double in ninth inning.
Corbin Carroll homered for the third game in a row.
Colorado has now lost six games in a row.

— Cleveland P Gavin Williams almost pitched a no-hitter this week; he threw 126 pitches, came up one out short. Guardians are contending for a playoff spot; in this day and age, is it smart to let your ace throw 126 pitches in a game they led 4-0?

126 pitches in nine more than anyone else in the major leagues this year; it just rarely happens anymore.

When does Williams pitch again? He threw 126 pitches on Wednesday, Cleveland is off Monday. Will be interesting to see if they give him an extra day of rest and have him pitch Wednesday. 

— Gap between the highest/lowest spending team in each sport:

NHL- $44M
NBA: $88M
NFL: $132M
MLB: $296M

— Kurt Warner made the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing at a I-AA college (Northern Iowa); his son EJ Warner has played a lot more college ball than his dad did, but he’s had sort of a nomadic career, bouncing around between schools. 

2022- Temple 3,028 PY. 18 TD’s, 12 INTs
2023- Temple 3,076 PY. 23 TD’s, 12 INT’s.
2024- Rice 2,710 PY. 17 TD’s, 13 INT’s.
2025- This year, EJ Warner will be the QB at Fresno State, since Rice fired their coach and is switching to an option-based offense.

— Los Angeles Chargers lost their best offensive lineman to a knee injury this week, a week after they gave him a four-year, $114M contract extension.

26-year old OT Rashawn Slater was the #2 rated tackle in the league last season. 

— More info on the Chargers:
This year, Chargers are #3 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #27 on offense.

Chargers made the playoffs two of the last three years.
QB Herbert is 41-40 as an NFL starter, 0-2 in playoff games.

Last year, Chargers were +12 in turnovers (21-9).
Bolts were 11-2 ATS as a favorite, 1-3 as an underdog.
11-6 Chargers were 4-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Chargers haven’t won a playoff game since 2018; they haven’t played a playoff game at home since 2009.

Last two years, Chargers are 2-9 ATS as an underdog.

— Including the guaranteed $13M he is making this year, Colts’ QB Daniel Jones has banked $121M over his seven-year career in the NFL. Lot of $$$ for a guy with a 25-45-1 career W-L record, 1-1 in playoff games.

— They don’t play overtime in NFL preseason games.

— Famous birthdays, August 9th:
Bob Cousy, 97
Sam Elliott, 82
Ted Simmons, 76
John Cappelletti, 73

Doug Williams, 70
Chris Miller, 60
Vinny Del Negro, 59

Deion Sanders, 58
Eric Bana, 57
Liz Vassey, 53
Kliff Kingsbury, 46

Anna Kendrick, 40
Brendan Rodgers, 29
Xavier Edwards, 26

Missed a birthday yesterday; the great actor Dustin Hoffman turned 88.

— Brewers 3, Mets 2
CF Perkins threw out the tying run at the plate to end the game.
Milwaukee has won seven games in a row.
Mets have lost nine of their last ten games.

— Astros 5, New York 3 (10)
New York has lost six of its last seven games- they’re 3-8 in extra innings.
Jose Altuve homered and doubled for Houston.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in the AL West.

— Mariners 3, Rays 2
Cal Raleigh’s 43rd HR was a game-winning 3-run shot in 8th inning.
Drew Rasmussen threw six scoreless IP for Tampa Bay.

— Red Sox 10, Padres 2
Wilbert Abreu, Masataka Yoshida homered for the Red Sox.
Boston has won 10 of its last 12 games.

— Phillies 9, Rangers 1
Kyle Schwarber hit his 41st home run.
Brandon Marsh went 4-5, including a home run.
Cristopher Sanchez tossed six IP, improved to 11-3, 2.36.

— AL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
0.5 games behind- Cleveland
1.5 games- Texas
4 games- Kansas City
4.5 games- Tampa Bay
5 games- Minnesota
6 games- Angels

— NL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
3.5 games behind- Cincinnati
4 games- San Francisco
4.5 games- St Louis
5.5 games- Miami
8 games- Arizona

— Alabama-Birmingham
Blazers went 4-8/3-9 in Trent Dilfer’s first two years as coach.
Last three years, UAB was 6-13-1 ATS on the road.
Last four years, UAB is 11-4 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Blazers are 0-12-1 ATS coming off a win.

— Army
Last five years, Army is 22-14-2 ATS coming off a win.
Since 2020, Cadets are 5-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Last year, Army was 7-1-1 ATS in AAC games.
Cadets are 4-1 SU/ATS in their last five bowls.

— Charlotte
Charlotte hasn’t had a winning season since 2019.
New coach Albin was 15-9 ATS in home games at Ohio U.
Albin was 24-10 ATS in conference games at Ohio,
Last four years, 49ers are minus-28 in turnovers. 

— East Carolina
Pirates have had winning seasons three of last four years.
Since 2016, ECU is 2-6 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2015, Pirates are 33-45-2 ATS in conference games.
ECU is 3-1 SU/ATS in its last four bowl games.

— Florida Atlantic
Owls have had four straight losing years, have a new coach now,
Since 2015, FAU is 5-14 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2015, Owls are 19-14-1 ATS as a road underdog.
FAU won four of last five bowls, but their last one was in 2020.

— Memphis
Last two years, Memphis went 10-3/11-2 SU.
Under Silverfield, Tigers are 9-16-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Silverfield, Tigers are 15-25 ATS in conference games.
Memphis won its last four bowl games, scoring 35.3 ppg.

— Navy
Middies went 10-3 LY, their first winning season in five years.
Last three years, Navy is 7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Since 2019, Middies are 24-10 ATS coming off a win.
Navy is 4-1 SU/5-0 ATS in its last five bowl games.

— Famous birthdays, August 8th:
Connie Stevens, 87
Jose Cruz, 78
Larry Wilcox, 78
Brian Sipe, 76

Bruce Matthews, 64
Howard Cross, 58
Rashard Lewis, 46
Craig Breslow, 45

Danilo Gallinari, 37
Anthony Rizzo, 36
Yandy Diaz, 34
Jarrett Stidham, 29

Thursday was 90th birthday for the great college football TV analyst, coach Lee Corso

— North Texas
North Texas hasn’t had a winning season since 2018.
Under Morris, Mean Green is 5-7 ATS as a favorite.
Last four years, North Texas is 11-6 ATS as a road underdog.
Mean Green is 0-5 SU/2-3 ATS in its last five bowl games.

— Rice
Last 10 years, Rice is 35-81 SU, with no winning seasons.
Owls have a new coach, switched to an option-based offense.
Last three years, Rice was -10/-14/-13 in turnovers.
Last three years, Owls were 8-1 ATS as a home underdog.

— South Florida
USF was 7-6/7-6 last two years, after going 8-37 from 2019-22.
Since 2018, Bulls are 6-11 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2019, USF is 6-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Bulls won four of last five bowls, two of them in overtime.

— Temple
Owls went 3-9 the last four years; their last winning season was 2019.
Last three years, Temple was -10/-20/-11 in turnovers.
Last four years, Temple is 5-17 ATS as a road underdog.
New coach Keller was 3-7 ATS as a favorite at Sam Houston State

— Texas-San Antonio
Under Traylor, UTSA is 46-20 SU, 36-30 ATS
Under Traylor, Roadrunners are 6-1 ATS as a home underdog.
UTSA is 31-18 ATS in its last 49 conference games.
Last three years, UTSA is 5-10 ATS in non-conference games.

— Tulane
Last three years, Green Wave was 12-2/11-3/9-5 SU (25-16-1 ATS)
Junior QB Retzlaff started 13 games at BYU, is a big add for Tulane.
In his career, coach Sumrall is 24-10-1 ATS as a favorite, 10-1-1 on road.
Tulane is 1-3 SU/ATS in its last four bowls, giving up 39.3 ppg.

— Tulsa
Last three years, Tulsa was 5-7/4-8/3-9 SU; they’ve got a new coach.
Since 2019, Golden Hurricane is 5-14-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Tulsa was 7-16-1 ATS in conference games.
Tulsa has had a minus turnover ratio the last seven years in a row. 

— NFL preseason games start in earnest tonight; interesting scheduling, with Pete Carroll’s first game with the Las Vegas Raiders back in Seattle, where he coached the Seahawks for 14 years (147-98-1 and a Super Bowl title).

QB Geno Smith is also a Raider now; he was 28-25 in five years with Seattle (0-1 in playoffs). 

— ESPN has bought the NFL Network and other NFL media assets, including the linear rights to the RedZone channel, in a deal that will see the NFL get a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

ESPN will also buy the NFL’s fantasy product and merge it into its existing platform, making ESPN Fantasy Football the official game of the NFL.

Later this month, ESPN is starting its direct-to-consumer streaming product, which I think is going to be $22/month.

— There are only five NFL teams left who take their training camp on the road to a college campus; Buffalo Bills go to St John Fisher College in Rochester.

Bills are on Hard Knocks this summer; first episode ran this week, with decent amount of interesting stuff in there, including a look at their new stadium, scheduled to open in 2026.

— Los Angeles Rams signed RB Kyren Williams to a 3-year, $33M contract extension; last two years, Williams ran ball for 2,443 yards and 26 touchdowns.

— Washington Nationals P MacKenzie Gore is struggling; in his last four starts, Gore has given up 23 runs in 15.2 IP. Not good.

— This week, A’s catcher Shea Langeliers became the first player EVER to hit three home runs in his first game as the leadoff hitter. 

Langeliers has 79 career home runs in 395 games; you don’t see a lot of catchers batting leadoff, but he made the most of his chance in this game.

— Seattle Mariners’ P Bryan Woo has started 22 games this season, and pitched 6+ innings in all 22 games, which is a huge plus for the Mariners, taking a lot of strain off their bullpen.

— Famous birthdays, August 7th:
David Rasche, 81
Alan Page, 80
Fred Brown, 77
Steve Kemp, 71
Wayne Knight, 70

Joe Cocozzo, 55
Danny Graves, 52
Charlize Theron, 50
Édgar Rentería, 49
Tommy Kahnle, 36

DeMar DeRozan, 36
Mike Trout, 34
Josh Smith, 28
Kyler Murray, 28
Jalen Hurts, 27

— Guardians 4, Mets 1
Gavin Williams threw 126 pitches, didn’t give up a hit until the 9th inning. Juan Soto’s home run broke up the no-hitter.
Angel Martinez hit a two-run homer.

Williams’ 126 pitches are by any pitcher in a game this year; Zack Littell threw 117 pitches in a game for Tampa Bay in a 16-3 win May 31st.

— Boston Red Sox signed rookie OF Roman Anthony to an 8-year, $130M extension; Anthony is hitting .276 this year, with an .809 OPS. 

— Brewers 5, Braves 4
In his last 12 games, Andrew Vaughn is hitting .435 with 16 RBI.
Milwaukee has won six in a row overall, is 33-24 on the road.

— New York 3, Rangers 2
Paul Goldschmidt’s pinch-hit HR in 7th inning was a game-winner.
Mark Leiter Jr got the win in relief.
His cousin, Jack Leiter, started and threw 3.1 IP for Texas.
With the win, New York holds on to the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Orioles 5, Phillies 1
Coby Mayo hit a three-run homer.
Trevor Rogers improved 5-2, 1.44 in ten starts this season.
Phillies still lead NL East by 2.5 games.

— Rays 5, Angels 4
Junior Caminero hit two homers for Tampa Bay.
Six Tampa Bay pitchers combined to strike out 16 Angels.
Just the fourth win for the Rays in their last 14 games.

— Random football trivia; back in the 1960’s, the first-ever game between an NFL team and an AFL squad ended with the Denver Broncos upsetting the Detroit Lions 13-7 in an exhibition game at Mile High Stadium.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres

Trends for major league teams
(thru Tuesday’s games)

— Arizona (54-60)
Arizona won three of last four games.
Diamondbacks are 12-20 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in six of last seven home games.
Arizona is 9-23 in last 32 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (47-65)
Braves are 5-14 in their last 17 games.
Atlanta is 26-28 at home, 21-37 on the road.
Braves are 14-13 vs NL East rivals, 33-52 vs everyone else.
Over is 15-5-2 in their last 22 games.

— Cubs (65-48)
Chicago is 6-10 in its last 16 games- they lead the NL Wild Card race.
Cubs are four games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Under is 4-0-1 in their last five games.
Cubs are 50-30 vs righty starters, 15-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (60-54)
Cincinnati is 8-4 in its last 12 games.
Reds are 45-36 vs righty starters, 15-18 vs lefties.
Under is 17-3-1 in their last 21 games.
Reds scored in first inning in 8 of last 13 home games.

— Rockies (30-83)
Colorado is 8-9 since the All-Star break.
Over is 9-2 in Rockies’ last 11 games.
Rockies are 4-27 vs lefty starters, 26-56 vs righties. 
Colorado is 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Dodgers (66-48)
Dodgers are 10-16 in their last 26 games.
LA leads San Diego by 3 games in NL West.
Dodgers are 49-33 vs righty starters, 17-15 vs lefties.
Under is 10-1-1 in their last 12 games.

— Marlins (55-57)                                                                       )
Marlins are 32-19 in their last 51 games.
Miami is 27-31 at home, 28-26 on the road.
Over is 4-1 in Marlins’ last five games.
Marlins are 9-2 in last 11 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (69-44)
Brewers are 20-4 in their last 24 games.
Milwaukee is 36-20 at home, 33-24 on the road.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 4 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (63-51)
Mets are 18-27 in their last 45 games, 1-7 in last eight.
Mets are 38-20 at home, 25-31 on the road.
Under is 5-2-1 in their last eight road games.
Mets lead Philly by 2.5 games in NL East.
In their last 49 games, David Peterson is Mets’ only starting pitcher who has finished the 6th inning in a game.

— Phillies (65-48)
Phillies won four of their last five games.
Phillies are 52-29 vs righty starters, 13-19 vs lefties.
Over is 10-6-1 in their last 17 games.
Phillies lead the Mets by 2.5 games in NL East.

— Pirates (49-65)
Pirates are 10-4 in their last 14 games.
Pittsburgh is 32-26 at home, 17-39 on the road.
Over is 5-0 in their last five games.
Pirates are 14-7 in last 21 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (57-58)
St Louis is 11-20 in its last 31 games.
Cardinals are 13-5 in home series openers.
St Louis is 32-24 at home, 25-34 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six home games.

— Padres (63-51)
San Diego won eight of its last 10 home games.
Padres are 36-19 at home, 27-32 on the road.
Padres are 43-34 vs righty starters, 20-17 vs lefties.
San Diego is 15-13 vs NL West rivals, 48-38 vs everyone else.

— Giants (57-57)
Giants are 5-14 in their last 19 games.
Giants are 46-38 vs righty pitchers, 11-19 vs lefties.
Over is 12-4-1 in their last 17 road games.
SF lost 6 of last 7 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (44-68)
Nationals lost their last six games, outscored 70-22.
Washington is 6-20 in its last 26 home games.
Over is 24-7 in their last 31 games.
Washington is 18-8 last 26 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 6th:
Ken Phelps, 71
Jerry Golsteyn, 71
Bob Horner, 68
Dale Ellis, 65

David Robinson, 60
Alvin Williams, t51
Victor Zambrano, 50
Seneca Wallace, 45

Charlie Whitehurst, 43
Wilmer Flores, 34
Hunter Greene, 26
Matt McLain, 26

— Orioles (51-63)
Baltimore lost five of its last six games.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Orioles are 27-27 vs at home, 24-36 on the road.
Orioles are 17-16 vs AL East rivals, 34-47 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (64-51)
Red Sox won their last seven games.
Boston is 15-21 in one-run games.
Under is 8-4 in their last dozen home games.
Red Sox are 27-15 in 42 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (42-71)
Chicago is 10-6 since the All-Star break.
White Sox are 24-32 at home, 18-39 on the road.
Over is 11-5-1 in their last seventeen games.
Chicago is 29-55 vs righty starters, 13-16 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (58-55)
Cleveland is 18-7 in its last 25 games.
Guardians are 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 44-35 vs righty starters, 13-20 vs lefties.
Over is 10-4 in their last 14 home games.

— Detroit (66-49)
Detroit won six of its last nine games.
Tigers are 19-10 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 7 games.
Detroit is 15-4 in home series openers.
Under is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.

— Houston (64-50)
Astros are 3-10 in their last 13 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by three games in AL West.
Over is 14-9 in their last 23 road games.
Houston is 27-14 vs NL teams, 37-36 vs AL teams.

— Royals (56-58)
Royals are 9-6 in their last 15 games.
Kansas City is 43-49 vs righty starters, 13-9 vs lefties.
Under is 14-6 in Royals’ last 20 home games.
Royals are 2-9 in last eleven home series openers.

— Angels (55-59)
Angels lost seven of their last nine road games.
Halos are five games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 45-48 vs righty starters, 10-11 vs lefties.
Angels are 26-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (53-60)
Twins lost eight of their last 12 games.
Minnesota is 30-24 at home, 23-36 on the road.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven games.
Twins traded 10 players off their roster, just last week.

— New York (60-54)
New York has lost 5 in row, is 18-29 in its last 47 games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
New York is 48-41 vs righty starters, 12-13 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has half-game lead for last Wild Card in the AL.

— A’s (50-65)
A’s are 17-15 in their last 32 games.
Under is 6-2-1 in their last nine games.
A’s are 13-15 in one-run games, 6-3 in extra innings.
Last 15 series, A’s are 6-1 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (61-53)
Mariners are 4-1 in their last five games overall.
Seattle is 17-8 in its last 25 home games.
Under is 6-1 in their last seven road games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #2 Wild Card in AL.

— Tampa Bay (56-59)
Tampa Bay lost 23 of its last 32 games.
Rays are 32-30 at home, 24-29 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 2-8 in last ten games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (60-55)
Rangers are 12-6 since the All-Star break.
Texas 50-37 vs righty starters, 10-18 vs lefties
Rangers are 36-20 at home, 24-35 on road.
Texas is half-game out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (67-48)
Blue Jays won four of their last six games overall.
Blue Jays won 13 of their last 16 home games.
Over is 12-4-2 in their last thirteen games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by three games in AL East.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres

— There must be a boatload of money involved in hosting all these fantasy football leagues; lot of podcasts on YouTube, with mock drafts, and drafting advice.

— As if the Cleveland Browns didn’t have enough QB’s already, they signed Tyler Huntley Monday, with three of their other four QB’s currently banged-up, and pre-season games on tap starting this weekend.

Huntley was 2-3 in five starts with the Dolphins last year.

— Guardians 7, Mets 6 (10)
Game was scoreless after five innings.
With game tied 5-5 in 9th inning, Cleveland escaped a bases loaded, one out jam.
Pete Alonso went 4-5 with four RBI for the Mets.

— Texas 8, Bronx 5 (10)
Josh Jung hit a walk-off home run for Texas.
Bronx is 18-28 in its last 46 games.
Rangers trail New York by 1.5 games for the last AL Wild Card slot.

— Pirates 5, Giants 4
Giants led this game 4-1 in the 7th inning.
Pirates scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

Giants are now 15-26 since trading for Rafael Devers.
Red Sox are 26-15 since trading Rafael Devers away.

— Phillies 13, Orioles 3
Game was tied 3-3 after the fifth inning.
Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, drove in six runs.
Schwarber now leads the major leagues, with 94 RBI

— Famous birthdays, August 5th:
Bruce Coslet, 79
Bernie Carbo, 78
Maureen McCormick, 69
Patrick Ewing, 63

Otis Thorpe, 63
Jonathan Silverman, 59
John Olerud, 57
Mark Mulder, 48

Carl Crawford, 44
C.J. Spiller, 38
Nick Martinez, 35
Anthony Edwards, 24

Today would’ve been Roman Gabriel’s 85th birthday.
Missed a birthday yesterday; Barack Obama turned 64 years old Monday.

— Reds 3, Cubs 2
Reds’ starting P Lodolo left in 2nd inning (blister)
Cubs’ starting P Soroka left after the 2nd inning (shoulder)

TJ Friedl had the game-winning hit, in the 7th inning.
Cubs fall three games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central

— Angels 5, Rays 1
Yusei Kikuchi needed 105 PT to get thru six innings; he got the win.
Tampa Bay fouled off 31 of his 105 pitches.
Rays’ OF Jake Mangum has a grandfather who played in the AFL for the Patriots; his dad played for the Chicago Bears.

— Red Sox 8, Royals 5
Juran Duran hit a three-run homer.
Red Sox have won six games in a row.
Boston rookie OF Roman Anthony (back tightness) was a late scratch.

— Brewers 3, Braves 1
Quinn Priester allowed only two hits in 7 IP.
Isaac Collins hit a 3-run homer.
Milwaukee is 68-44, best record in baseball.

— Blue Jays 15, Rockies 1
Bo Bichette homered twice, drove in six runs.
Bichette’s father Dante played seven years with the Rockies.
Ernie Clement went 5-for-6, scored three runs.

— Information on the Las Vegas Raiders:
Pete Carroll is the Raiders’ new coach; he is 181-131-1 as an NFL coach, 11-11 in playoff games, with a Super Bowl win 12 years ago. Carroll is the Raiders’ 4th head coach in five years.

Geno Smith is the Raiders’ new QB; he is 40-44 as an NFL starter, 0-1 in playoff games. 

The new offensive coordinator is former Eagles/Oregon/UCLA coach Chip Kelly.

Last three years, went Raiders 6-11/8-9/4-13; they haven’t won a playoff game since 2002, making playoffs only twice since then, 2016/2021.

This year, Raiders are #31 in $$$ spent on offense (#7 at QB), #13 on defense. Raiders are #32 in $$$ spent at CB, #311 at linebacker.

Last year, Raiders were minus-16 in turnovers (13-29); they were 3-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Last two years, Raiders were 7-3 ATS as a favorite, 11-12 as an underdog.

— Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2
Yohel Pozo had a game-winning pinch-hit single in the 9th inning.
Sonny Gray allowed only one hit in seven IP.
Dodgers are 7-9 since the All-Star break.

— Diamondbacks 6, Padres 2
Arizona has won three in a row, after a 1-9 skid.
Kyle Backhus got his first career save.
Arizona OF Alek Thomas is hitting .371 since the All-Star break.

— Astros 8, Marlins 2
Houston scored 5 runs in 4th inning, ended Miami’s 5-game win streak.
Jason Alexander pitched six scoreless innings.
Yainer Diaz was 2-for-4, with two RBI

— Tigers 6, Twins 3
Kerry Carpenter hit a 3-run homer in the 6th inning.
Detroit has won six of eight games, after a 1-12 skid.
Minnesota has lost five of its last six games.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres

— Cubs 5, Orioles 3
Justin Turner hit his first-ever walk-off home run to end the game.

Three oldest major leaguers to hit their first-ever walk-off homer:
41 years, 278 days- Murray Dickinson, 1958
40 years, 253 days- Justin Turner, Sunday
40 years, 4 days- Rick Dempsey, 1989

— Pirates 9, Rockies 5
Leadoff hitter Spencer Horwitz homered twice, drove in six runs. 

Saturday, leadoff hitter Liover Peguero hit three homers, drove in five runs for Pittsburgh, making the Pirates the first time in the last 100 years to get 5+ RBI from leadoff hitters in consecutive games.

Shohei Ohtani had 12 RBI in consecutive games while he was batting leadoff last year, but he had 10 RBI in one game, two in the other game.

— Giants 12, Mets 4
Rafael Devers homered, had four RBI. 

In their last 44 games, Mets’ starting pitchers have thrown only 9.2 innings in the 6th inning; relievers have thrown 34.1 of the 44 innings in the 6th inning.

— Braves 4, Reds 2
They sold 91,032 tickets for the Braves-Reds ballgame at the Bristol Raceway in Tennessee; game was suspended by rain in the first inning Saturday night- they finished Sunday, with Eli White hitting two home runs for the Braves.

Hurston Waldrep pitched 5.2 innings in relief for Atlanta; he was with his AAA team Saturday night, but drove 250 miles, joined the Braves Sunday morning, was one of the game’s stars.

— In his Hall of Fame career, the late Ryne Sandberg played in 10 playoff games; he had a hit in all 10 games, making him the only player since 1903 to play in 10+ playoff games, and to get a hit in all of them.

— Saturday night in Anaheim, White Sox won 1-0, with C Kyle Teel driving in the game’s only run. Angels had only one hit against Aaron Civale and the Chicago bullpen.

Teel is the first catcher since Buster Posey in 2014 to catch a one-hitter (or no-hitter) and also drive in all the runs in that game.

— Players who have a home run in every inning (and in extra innings) this season:
Riley Greene, Tigers
Nick Kurtz, A’s
James Wood, Nationals

— Famous birthdays, August 4th:
Billy Bob Thornton, 70
Michael Holton, 64
Roger Clemens, 63

John Farrell, 63
BJ Surhoff, 61
Meghan Markle, 44

Jason Adam, 34
Kevin Newman, 32
Brady Singer, 29

— Ben Cherington is in his sixth year as GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates; he previously worked for Blue Jays, Red Sox. He is really book-smart; his grandfather won a Pulitzer Prize.

In Cherington’s tenure in Pittsburgh, he’s acquired a top 30 prospect from the Bronx baseball team via trade ten times. Here’s a list of the names; how is he doing? 

Roansy Contreras
Rafael Flores (just got called up to AAA)
Miguel Yajure
Canaan Smith-Njigba
Edgleen Perez

Keiner Delgado
Brian Sanchez
Hoy Park
Maikol Escotto
Diego Castillo

So far, not so good.

— Earlier this year, Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in the first inning of a game, but also gave up a home run in the first inning, as a pitcher; he is the first pitcher to do that since the Phillies’ Randy Lerch in 1979.

— How times have changed; from April-July 1977, Angels’ P Frank Tanana threw 14 consecutive complete games, and two of those games went to extra innings. Angels were 9-5 in those games.

Last season, the entire season, there were a total of 28 complete games in the major leagues.

— Red Sox 7, Astros 3
Red Sox have won 20 of their last 24 home games.
First loss since May 2nd for Framber Valdez, a span of 14 starts.

— Dodgers 3, Rays 0
Game was scoreless after five innings.
Dodgers scored in 6th inning, ending an 18-inning scoreless streak.
Yamamoto got 17 outs on 88 pitches- he is 10-7, 2.51 this year.

— Brewers 14, Nationals 3
Brice Turang hit two home runs, drove in four runs.
Brewers were 6-0 vs Washington this season, scoring 60 runs.
Milwaukee leads the NL Central by two games.

— Phillies 2, Tigers 0
Cristopher Sanchez threw 7 shutout IP, on only 84 pitches.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 38th homer of the season.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres

Notes for MAC football teams:
— Akron
Akron has had seven consecutive losing seasons.
Under Moorhead, Akron is 7-3 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2015, Akron is 12-26 ATS in non-conference games.
Since 2017, Zips are 4-9-3 ATS as a home favorite.

— Ball State
Cardinals have had one winning season in the last 10 years.
New HC was an NAIA head coach.
Last three years, Ball State is 15-9 ATS in MAC games.
Ball State is 1-8 SU all-time in bowl games (1-4 ATS last five)

— Bowling Green
Former NFL star Eddie George is new coach (Tennessee State NC 2021-24)
Jeff Fisher’s son Brandon is the Falcons’ defensive coordinator.
Last four years, Bowling Green was 13-5-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Falcons lost their last four bowls, giving up 37.5 ppg.

— Buffalo
Bulls were 9-4 LY, their first winning season since 2020.
In his career, Lembo is 8-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2021, Buffalo is 4-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Bulls won their last four bowl games.

— Central Michigan
Last 3 years, Chippewas were 13-23; the new HC was an NAIA head coach. Last 3 years, Chippewas were minus-42 in turnovers.
Since 2019, CMU is 8-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Last four years, Chippewas are 8-15-1 ATS coming off a loss.

— Eastern Michigan
Under coach Creighton, Eagles are 11-20 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Creighton, Eagles are 35-18-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Last three years, EMU is 12-7 ATS in games coming off a win.
Eagles are 1-4 SU/3-2 ATS in their last five bowls.

— Notes for the Kansas City Chiefs:
Last three years, Chiefs were 40-11 SU; they lost Super Bowl LY.
Last year, Chiefs were 15-2, 11-0 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Kansas City was +6 in turnovers (20-14) last year.

This year, Chiefs are #2 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense
This year, Chiefs are #20 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense (#30 LY)

Under is 17-9 in Kansas City’s last 26 home games.
Last four years, Chiefs are 10-13 ATS as a home favorite.

— Famous birthdays, August 3rd:
Marv Levy, 100
Martin Sheen, 85
Lance Alworth, 85
Mike Gminski, 66

Nate McMillan, 62
Kevin Elster, 61
Michael Ealy, 52

Tom Brady, 48
Mark Reynolds, 42
Tyrod Taylor, 36

Todd Gurley, 31
Dante Fowler, 31
Zac Gallen, 30
Darell Hernaiz, 24

— Kent State
Kent State went 1-23 the last two years; the new HC was OC last year.
Since 2020, Golden Flashes are 5-18-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Last three years, Kent State is 5-17-2 ATS in MAC games.
Last three years, Kent State was 2-5 ATS as a home favorite.

— UMass
Minutemen join MAC this year after struggling as an independent.
Last 10 years, UMass is 21-91 SU (21-27 ATS last four years)
Since 2019, UMass is 0-7 ATS as a home favorite.
Last two years, Minutemen were 8-4 ATS as a road underdog.

— Miami
Last two years, Redhawks were 20-8 SU/19-9 ATS
Last two years, Miami was 12-3 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2015, Redhawks are 33-20 ATS coming off a loss.
Miami is 2-3 SU/5-0 ATS in its last five bowls.

— Northern Illinois
In his career, Hammock is 8-24 ATS as a favorite.
In his career, Hammock is 17-5 ATS as a road underdog.
Last three years, Huskies are 8-16 ATS in MAC games.
Since 2018 though, NIU is 15-8 as an underdog in MAC games.

— Ohio U
Bobcats were 31-10 the last three years; the coach bolted to Charlotte.
Last three years, Ohio U is 13-5 ATS at home.
Last four years, Bobcats are 24-10 ATS in MAC games.
Ohio U is 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in its last five bowls.

— Toledo
Last three years, Rockets are 3-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2019, Toledo is 30-18 SU/20-28 ATS in MAC games.
Underdogs covered Toledo’s last five bowls (1-4 SU/3-2 ATS)
Rockets’ last three bowl games were decided by 2-1-2 points.

— Western Michigan
Last three years, Broncos were 5-7/4-8/6-7 SU.
Last three years, Broncos were +8/+4/+4 in turnovers; unusual.
Under Taylor, WMU is 6-0 ATS as a home favorite, 4-9 as an underdog.
Broncos are 1-8 ATS in last nine games vs Big 18 opponents. 

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
NL: Mets, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— Our first note today is disturbing, posted by The Intellectualist:

Major League Baseball Players Association urged foreign-born players to carry immigration papers amid a nationwide crackdown, with experts warning that even superstar athletes aren’t immune from enforcement.

Strange times we live in; lot of cruddy people in the world.

— Chargers 34, Lions 7
Detroit fumbled away the opening kickoff, also lost a fumble on a punt.
Trey Lance played most of game at QB for LA, was 13-20/120 passing, with 2 TD’s.
Chargers were +5 in turnovers; Detroit didn’t play any starters.

— When former Chargers’ TE Antonio Gates gets inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday, he’ll become the first inductee who didn’t play college football.

Gates played basketball at both Eastern Michigan/Kent State, leading Kent State to the Elite 8 of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, as a #10-seed.

— NFL teams’ over/under win totals’ trends:
Steelers- over their win total nine of last 11 years
Chiefs- over 11 of the last 15 years
Browns- under 16-6 last 22 years
Giants- under 11-2-1 last 14 years
Bears- under 20-8-1 last 29 years/5-0-1 last six years
Jaguars- under 19-6 last 25 years

— Betting props this year for Geno Smith, the Raiders’ new QB:
Over/under passing yards: 3,575.5
Over/under passing TD’s: 20.5

— There were 50 traded made in the 31 hours before baseball’s trading deadline; baseball needs a Hard Knocks-type show, to

a) promote the sport- it is a great game.
b) show us how things work behind the scenes.

Imagine being a fly on the wall in the Twins’ clubhouse this week? Of the 25 players who were on their roster at this time last week, 10 of them got traded away this week.

— Wednesday in Kansas City, the Royals won a game 1-0 in 10 innings, using nine pitchers to shut the Braves out. They are only the second team every to use pitchers in a shutout win.

— Notes for the Jacksonville Jaguars:
Liam Coen is the new coach; he was OC for the Buccaneers last year.
Jaguars went 4-13 last year, after a couple of 9-8 seasons.

Last year, Jaguars were 3-10 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

This year, Jaguars are #30 in $$$ spent on offense (last year, #15)
This year, Jaguars are #23 in $$$ spent on defense (last year, #15)

Jacksonville had only nine takeaways LY; they were minus-15 in turnovers; the new DC is Anthony Campanile, who comes to the Jaguars from Green Bay.

Last four years, Jaguars were 18-13 ATS as an underdog.
Jaguars are 3-7 ATS in last ten games as a home favorite.
Jaguars are 8-4 ATS in last 12 games as home underdogs.

— Famous birthdays, August 2nd:
Bob Netolicky, 83
Butch Patrick, 72
Mary-Louise Parker, 61
Cedric Ceballos, 56
Mike Venafro, 52

Grady Sizemore, 43
Huston Street, 42
Dylan Moore, 33
Laremy Tunsil, 31
Kristaps Porziņģis, 30

— Rockies 17, Pirates 16
Pittsburgh scored nine runs in the top of the first inning.
Colorado is first team since 2006 to give up 9+ runs in first inning, and win.
Rockies scored five runs in the bottom of the 9th.
Brenton Doyle had a walk-off HR to end this 3:37 marathon.

— Marlins 13, New York 12
Miami trailed 9-4 in 7th inning; they scored 9 runs in last three innings.
Javier Sanoja homered twice for the Marlins.
Marlins are 30-17 in their last 47 games.

— Red Sox 2, Astros 1 (10)
Roman Anthony had a walk-off single for Boston.
Red Sox tied game 1-1 with a run in 7th inning.
Boston has won five of its last six games.

— Cubs 1, Orioles 0
There were a total of only seven hits in this game.
Rookie P Horton allowed two hits in 5 IP.
Ian Happ’s 2nd inning sac fly scored the game’s only run.

— A’s 5, Diamondbacks 1
Jacob Lopez allowed five hits in 5 shutout IP.
Arizona has lost six in row, nine of last ten games.
A’s are 16-12 in their last 28 games.

— Padres 4, Cardinals 1
Nick Pivetta allowed one hit, improved to 11-3, 2.73 this year.
Newly-acquired Mason Miller pitched 8th inning, got a hold.
Willson Contreras homered for the only St Louis run.

— Guardians 3, Twins 2 (10)
Kyle Manzardo had a walk-off single for Cleveland.
Guardians are 9-5 since the All-Star break.
Jose Ramirez is the 17th player EVER with 275+ HR’s, 275+ stolen bases in his career.

— Mariners 4, Rangers 3
JP Crawford hit a 2-run, walk-off homer in the 9th inning.
Seattle is 14-7 in its last 21 home games.
Texas is 11-22 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres

Trends for major league teams
(thru Thursday’s games)

— Arizona (51-58)
Arizona lost five in row, eight of last nine games.
Diamondbacks traded several key players this week.
Under is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
Arizona is 9-21 in last 30 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (46-62)
Braves are 4-11 in their last 14 games.
Atlanta is 26-26 at home, 20-36 on the road.
Over is 14-3-2 in their last 19  games.

— Reds (57-53)
Cincinnati is 5-3 in its last eight games.
Reds are 43-35 vs righty starters, 14-18 vs lefties.
Under is 13-3-1 in their last 17 games.
Reds scored in first inning in 8 of last 13 home games.

— Cubs (63-45)
Chicago is 4-7 in its last 11 games- they lead the NL Wild Card race.
Cubs are game behind Milwaukee for NL Central lead.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Cubs are 49-28 vs righty starters, 14-17 vs lefties.

— Rockies (28-80)
Colorado is 6-6 since the All-Star break.
Under is 12-4-1 in Rockies’ last 17 home games.
Rockies are 3-26 vs lefty starters, 25-54 vs righties. 
Colorado is 5-1 in last six games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Dodgers (63-46)
Dodgers are 7-14 in their last 21 games.
LA leads San Diego by 3 games in NL West.
Dodgers are 46-31 vs righty starters, 17-15 vs lefties.
Under is 6-0-1 in their last seven games.

— Marlins (52-55)                                                                       )
Marlins are 29-17 in their last 46 games.
Miami is 24-29 at home, 28-26 on the road.
Under is 21-5 in Marlins’ last 26 home games.
Marlins are 8-2 in last 10 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (64-44)
Brewers are 15-4 in their last 19 games.
Milwaukee is 36-20 at home, 28-24 on the road.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine home games. 
Milwaukee lead the Cubs by a game in the NL Central.

— Mets (62-47)
Mets are 17-23 in their last 40 games.
Mets are 37-16 at home, 25-31 on the road.
Under is 6-3-2 in their last eleven games.
Mets lead Philly by half-game in NL East.

— Phillies (61-47)
Phillies are 7-11 in their last 18 road games.
Phillies are 49-29 vs righty starters, 12-18 vs lefties.
Over is 7-4-1 in their last 12 games.
Phillies trail Mets by half-game in NL East; they’re #2 Wild Card team.

— Pirates (47-62)
Pirates won eight of their last nine games.
Pittsburgh is 31-25 at home, 16-37 on the road.
Under is 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Pirates are 13-6 in last 19 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (55-55)
St Louis is 9-17 in its last 26 games.
Cardinals are 13-5 in home series openers.
St Louis is 32-24 at home, 23-31 on the road.
Under is 8-2-1 in their last eleven games.

— Padres (60-49)
Padres won their last five games, scoring 31 runs.
San Diego made lot of moves before the trade deadline.
Under is 7-3 in their last 10 games.
San Diego leads Cincinnati by 3 games for the last NL Wild Card slot.

— Giants (54-55)
Giants are 2-12 in their last 14 games, 12-23 since acquiring Devers.
Giants are 44-36 vs righty pitchers, 10-19 vs lefties.
Over is 8-3-1 in their last dozen road games.
SF lost last five games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (44-64)
Nationals are 6-6 since the All-Star break. 
Washington is 6-16 in its last 22 home games.
Over is 20-7 in their last 27 games.
Washington is 18-8 last 26 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Notes for the Indianapolis Colts:
Colts went 9-8/8-9 in two seasons under Shane Steichen.
Lou Anumumo is the new defensive coordinator.
OC Jim Bob Cooter was Peyton Manning’s backup QB at Tennessee.

This year, Colts are #14 in $$$ spent on offense (last year, #3)
This year, Colts are #5 in $$$ spent on defense (last year, #17)

Indy was minus-4 in turnovers last year (25-29)

Colts were 8-5 LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Colts were 5-3 LY in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

Over is 12-5 in their last 17 home games.

Colts are 5-2 ATS in last seven games as a home favorite.
Colts are 2-5 ATS in last seven games as a road favorite.

— Famous birthdays, August 1st:
Terry Kiser, 86
Greg Gross, 73
John Spagnola, 68
Kiki Vandeweghe, 67

Greg Bell, 63
Gaston Green, 59
Gregg Jefferies, 58
Stacey Augmon, 57

Edgerrin James, 47
Austin Rivers, 33
Madison Bumgarner, 36
Ezequiel Tovar, 24

— Orioles (50-59)
Baltimore won five of its last six games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Orioles are 17-16 vs AL East foes, 33-43 vs everyone else.
Orioles dealt some guys at the trade deadline.

— Red Sox (59-51)
Red Sox won five of their last seven games.
Boston is 14-21 in one-run games.
Under is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
Red Sox are 22-15 in 37 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (40-69)
Chicago is 8-4 since the All-Star break.
White Sox are 24-32 at home, 16-37 on the road.
Over is 8-4-1 in their last thirteen games.
Chicago is 28-53 vs righty starters, 12-16 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (54-54)
Cleveland is 14-6 in its last 20 games.
Guardians are 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 41-34 vs righty starters, 13-20 vs lefties.
Over is 8-3 in their last 11 home games.

— Detroit (64-46)
Detroit won its last four games, scoring 34 runs.
Tigers are 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 9 games.
Detroit is 14-4 in home series openers.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Houston (62-47)
Astros are 3-10 in their last 13 home games.
Astros lead Seattle/Texas by 5 games in AL West.
Over is 11-7 in their last 18 road games.
Houston added a new LF-SS-3B at trade deadline.

— Royals (54-55)
Royals are 14-8 in their last 22 games.
Kansas City is 41-47 vs righty starters, 13-8 vs lefties.
Under is 14-6 in Royals’ last 20 home games.
Royals are 2-9 in last eleven home series openers.

— Angels (53-56)
Angels are 8-6 in their last 14 home games.
Halos are four games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 43-45 vs righty starters, 10-11 vs lefties.
Angels are 25-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (51-57)
Twins traded 10 players off their roster, just this week.
Twins lost five of their last seven games.
Minnesota is 30-24 at home, 21-33 on the road.
Under is 12-6 in their last eighteen games.

— New York (60-49)
New York is 12-8 in its last 20 games.
Over is 5-2-1 in their last eight games.
Right now, New York is the #1 Wild Card in the AL.
New York is 48-37 vs righty starters, 12-12 vs lefties.

— A’s (48-63)
A’s are 15-12 in their last 27 games.
Under is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
A’s are 12-15 in one-run games, 6-3 in extra innings.
Last 13 series, A’s are 6-1 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (58-52)
Mariners are 5-7 in their last 12 games overall.
Seattle is 13-7 in its last 20 home games.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Mariners added 3B Suarez to improve their offense.

— Texas (57-53)
Rangers are 9-4 since the All-Star break.
Texas is 11-21 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 34-20 at home, 23-33 on road.
Over is 7-3 in their last nine games.

— Tampa Bay (54-56)
Tampa Bay lost 20 of its last 27 games.
Rays are 31-28 at home, 23-28 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 2-8 in last ten games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Toronto (64-46)
Blue Jays lost four of their last five games overall.
Blue Jays won 12 of their last 13 home games.
Over is 8-3-2 in their last thirteen games.
Toronto is 15-7 in last 22 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Tuesday afternoon, Orioles hit four home runs and four sacrifice flies in a win over Toronto; they’re the first team since the 1955 Red Sox with 4+ homers, 4+ sac flies in the same game.

— Baseball’s trade deadline is 6:00 Thursday; we’ll go thru all that tomorrow, but there were two trades Wednesday that made some history. 

Reds acquired 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh, for P Taylor Rogers and a minor league SS. 

Mets acquired P Tyler Rogers for two P’s and a minor league shortstop. 

Taylor/Tyler Rogers are brothers; they’re the first pair of brothers to be traded on the same day since 1970, when Hal/Dan Breeden both got dealt.

— Colorado Rockies TV analyst Ryan Spilborghs played seven years in the major leagues, all for Colorado. At the end of his career, when he was in the minor leagues with Cleveland, Spilborghs was dealt to Texas, for cash considerations.

Years later, as Spilborghs explained on TV Wednesday, he was curious how much cash changed hands between the Rangers/Indians— he figured $50,000 or so.

Turns out the Rangers gave Cleveland $1, one freakin’ dollar, to acquire Spilborghs, who hit .295 in AAA for Texas that year, then played his last season of pro ball in Japan in 2013.

— Orioles-Blue Jays played a day/night doubleheader Tuesday; in between games, they made a trade, with P Seranthony Domínguez involved.

Early in Game 2, TV cameras showed Domínguez walking to the Toronto bullpen in his new uniform, while stopping to hug his former Baltimore teammates in their bullpen. He pitched a scoreless inning later in that game, which had to be a little odd.

— Pirates’ P Paul Skenes has started 22 games this season; he hasn’t allowed a run in the first inning, in any of those games.

— Chicago Cubs gave president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer a contract extension this week, that will keep him in Chicago until at least 2030. Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since 2020; they won 83 games each of the last two seasons, but are 63-45 this year and appear headed to the playoffs.

— In the NFL, Seattle Seahawks gave general manager and president of football operations John Schneider a contract extension that will keep him in Seattle thru 2031; he has been Seattle’s GM since 2010.

— Famous birthdays, July 31st:
Leon Durham, 68
Scott Brooks, 60
Dean Cain, 59

Andre Ware, 57
Gus Frerotte, 54
Chris Weinke, 53

Gabe Kapler, 50
Annie Parisse, 49
Tim Couch, 48

— Late Night Trade: Seattle Mariners acquired 34-year old 3B Eugenio Suarez from Arizona; Suarez is hitting .248 this year, with an .896 OPS. Suarez played for Seattle in 2022-23.

A’s 5, Mariners 4
Seattle is tied with Texas for the AL’s last Wild Card slot.
Miguel Andujar homered twice for A’s.
A’s have won six of their last seven games.

— Padres 5, Mets 0
Yu Darvish threw 7 innings, got his first win this year.
San Diego has a 3-game lead for the NL’s last Wild Card slot.
Mets got swept in San Diego for the first time since 2008.

— Blue Jays 9, Orioles 8
Baltimore led 5-3 after the fifth inning.
Nathan Lukes hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning for Toronto.
Blue Jays lead the AL East by four games.

— Astros 9, Nationals 1
Jose Altuve went 4-for-4, scored 3 runs, had 3 RBI
It was the 41st time in his career that Altuve had 4+ hits in a game.
Astros lead the AL West by five games.

— New York 5, Rays 4 (11)
Tampa Bay led 1-0 after the 7th inning.
Ryan McMahon had a walk-off hit in the 11th inning.
After this game, Rays traded P Zack Littell to Cincinnati.

— Tigers 7, Diamondbacks 2
Arizona is in the ashcan, going 0-5 since they started to clean house.
Chris Paddack allowed 3 hits in 6 IP in his Detroit debut.
Kerry Carpenter homered, had three RBI.

— Pirates 2, Giants 1 (10)
Pittsburgh won eight of its last nine games; the only loss was 1-0.
Mike Burrows allowed three hits in six IP for the Pirates.
Giants went 0-6 on this homestand; they’re 54-55, below .500 for first time this season. 

Trends for ACC football teams…….

Boston College
Bill O’Brien is 30-20 ATS as a college coach.
Since 2017, Eagles are 17-7-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Boston College is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 non-conference games.

Cal (why is Cal in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference?!?!?!)
As a head coach, Wilcox is 32-16 ATS as an underdog.
As a head coach, Wilcox is 15-23-1 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2017, Golden Bears are 13-6 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Cal is 8-4 ATS in non-conference games.

Clemson
Clemson has a senior QB who has already started 28 games.
Last four years, Tigers are 11-14 ATS as a home favorite.
Clemson is 7-2 ATS in last nine games coming off a loss.

Duke
Last three years, Duke was 9-4/8-5/9-4 SU
Last three years, Duke is 15-9 ATS in ACC games.
Blue Devils are 11-3 ATS in last 14 games as an underdog.
Duke is 12-17 ATS in its last 29 games as a favorite. 

Florida State
Seminoles finished under .500 five of last seven years.
FSU is 6-13 ATS in its last 19 games coming off a loss.
As a head coach, Norvell is 16-8 ATS as a road favorite.
As a head coach, Norvell is 5-13-2 ATS as a road underdog.

Georgia Tech
Since 2018, Tech is 7-14-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2015, Tech is 3-10 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Key, Tech is 12-5 ATS as an underdog.
Under Key, Tech is 14-9 ATS in ACC games.

Louisville
Louisville has a veteran offensive line (203 career starts)
Senior QB Moss started 10 games at USC.
Last five years, Louisville is 18-7 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Cardinals are 1-7 ATS as a road favorite.

Miami
Since 2017, Miami is 27-39 ATS in conference games.
In his career, Cristobal is 18-32-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Miami lost its last five bowl games (favored in 3 of 5 games)
Since 2017, Miami is 22-36 ATS in games coming off a loss.

North Carolina
Bill Belichick is the new coach; not sure how much these trends mean.
Tar Heels have a veteran offensive line (155 career starts)
Last three years, Carolina is 6-12 ATS as a home favorite.
Tar Heels lost their last five bowl games, giving up 32.8 ppg.

Famous birthdays, July 30th
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 78
Billy Paultz, 77
Ellis Valentine, 71
Bill Cartwright, 68

Clint Hurdle, 68
Steve Trout, 68
Ricky Horton, 66
Laurence Fishburne, 64

Chris Mullin, 62
Lisa Kudrow, 62
Hilary Swank, 51
Jake McCarthy, 28

NC State
Last five years, Wolfpack is 7-2 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, State is 4-10 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2019, State is 16-27 ATS in games coming off a win.
Wolfpack lost their last four bowls, three of them by 5 or fewer points.

Pittsburgh
In his career, Narduzzi is 18-25-3 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Narduzzi is 15-4 ATS as a road favorite.
Panthers are 1-9 ATS last ten games as a road underdog.
Pitt has a veteran offensive line (78 career starts)

SMU
Last two years, Mustangs went 11-3/11-3.
Since 2015, SMU is 28-14 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2020, Mustangs are 3-8 ATS as a road underdog.
SMU lost its last four bowls (favored in 3 of the 4)

Stanford (why is Stanford in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference?!?!?!)
Stanford fired their coach for bullying last March
Former NFL coach Frank Reich is the interim coach for this year.
Last four years, Cardinal went 3-9 every year (minus-29 in turnovers)
Since 2020, Stanford is 0-6 ATS as a home favorite.

Syracuse
Syracuse was 10-3 last year, their best season since 2018.
Orangemen are 7-2 ATS last nine games as a road favorite.
Last three years, Syracuse is 3-8 ATS as a road underdog.
Last four years, Syracuse is 7-4 ATS as a home favorite.

Virginia
Last three years, Cavaliers are 15-8 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2020, Virginia is 26-15 ATS in ACC games.
Since 2020, Virginia is 14-6 ATS in games coming off a win.
Last four years, Cavaliers are minus-23 in turnovers.

Virginia Tech
Last two years, Tech is 11-5 ATS in ACC games, 3-7 out of conference.
Hokies lost four of last five bowls, giving up 34 ppg.
Tech hired West Virginia’s OL coach; he brought three linemen with him.
Hokies have a senior QB who has started 20 games.

Wake Forest
Wake has a new head coach, who brought in a top 25 transfer class.
Deacons have 86 returning starts on the offensive line.
Since 2017, Wake is 19-14 ATS as a home favorite.
Wake’s QB has already spent time at Auburn, South Carolina. 

— Trade deadline is Thursday; who will buy, who will sell?

AL Wild Card standings:
1- New York
2- Seattle
3- Boston
Rangers- 0.5 games behind
Rays- 2.5 games behind
Guardians- 4 games behind
Angels/Royals- 4.5 games behind
Twins- 5 games behind

NL Wild Card standings:
1- Cubs
2- Phillies
3- Padres

Reds- 2 games behind
Cardinals- 3.5 games behind
Giants- 4 games behind
Arizona/Miami- 7 games behind

All that leaves seven teams who are non-contenders; Arizona has already pretty much thrown up the white Flag. How many other teams will do that before Thursday?

— Apparently MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was in the Phillies clubhouse last week, and he got cursed out by Bryce Harper, when Harper got steamed when he thought Manfred wanted to talk about a potential salary cap in the sport’s near future.

It isn’t looking good for baseball in 2027, when the next collective bargaining deal is expected to start; some owners want a salary cap, the players’ union, with scumweasel agent Scott Boras behind it, vehemently does not want one.

Sounds like we could be having a spring full of Korean baseball at 4am in a couple years.

— Diamondbacks’ 3B Eugenio Suarez is a hot commodity at the trade deadline; hell, I was trying to trade for him in our fantasy league, but he got drilled with a pitch on his right hand Monday and left the game. X-rays were negative; more tests are expected Tuesday.

Tigers 5, Diamondbacks 1- Arizona has scored total of two runs in four games since they traded Josh Naylor to Seattle.

— Twins 5, Red Sox 4
Brooks Lee’s 2-run single was a walk-off winner for the Twins.
There was a 90-minute rain delay during the ninth inning.
Twins traded P Chris Paddack to Detroit earlier in the day.

— Pirates 6, Giants 5
Andrew McCutchen hit a 2-run homer in the 7th inning.
Mitch Keller started for Pittsburgh, lasted only 2 IP, throwing 73 pitches.
Willie Adames was 3-5 with two RBI for the Giants.

— RIP to Hall of Fame 2B Ryne Sandberg, one of the most beloved players in Cubs history, who passed away Monday at age 65.

Sandberg hit .285 with 282 home runs, 1,061 RBI and 344 stolen bases in 15 years with Chicago. He made 10 All-Star teams — winning the Home Run Derby in 1990 — and took home nine Gold Gloves.

Sandberg was MVP of the National League in 1984; his OPS was .887 that year.

He later managed the Phillies for a couple years. RIP, sir.

— Famous birthdays, July 29th
Mike Starr, 75
Ken Kravec, 74
Scott Wedman, 73
Ken Burns, 72
Dave LaPoint, 66

Steve Pelluer, 63
Pepper Johnson, 61
Ryan Braun, 45
Dak Prescott, 32
Jack Suwinski, 27

— Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase has been put on paid leave as part of a betting investigation, joining Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz on that list.

Apparently the investigation revolves around prop bets, like whether the first pitch of an inning will be a strike or not. Prop betting is for total degenerates; this is bad for the game.

Rockies 8, Guardians 6- To make matters worse for Cleveland, the dreadful Rockies scored four runs in the top of the ninth, after the Guardians had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead after eight innings.

— Padres 7, Mets 6
Elias Diaz had a walk-off single for San Diego; they trailed 5-1 in 5th inning.
Mark Vientos homered, had four RBI for the Mets.
Luis Arraez homered for the Padres.

— Nationals 2, Astros 1
Riley Adams hit a tie-breaking home run in the 7th inning.
Astros have lost 10 of their last 11 home games.
Last three games, Houston was held to 1-1-1 runs.

After the game, Houston P Framber Valdez complained about the Astros’ defensive placement in the outfield. He wasn’t happy where the RF was playing in the 6th inning, when a double scored the Nationals’ first run.

— Mets paid $97M in payroll taxes last year, that’s how high their payroll was.

By way of comparison, the Pirates’ entire payroll last year was $88,542,440.

— Royals P Kris Bubic is out for the year with a left rotator cuff strain.

— Dusty Baker is going to manage Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic next winter.

— RIP to former big league pitcher Bill Denehy, who passed away last month at age 79.

Denehy was a big enough prospect that he was on a rookie baseball card with Tom Seaver in 1967; he faced Willie Mays four times, struck him out three times, but Denehy pitched in only 49 big league games, starting nine of them.

Mets actually traded him to the Washington Senators in 1967 for a manager, Gil Hodges, who two years later let the Miracle Mets to the 1969 World Series title.

RIP, sir. 

— If you have HBO, there is a great documentary about Billy Joel on there “And So It Goes”

This is a two-part show, think it is four hours in all; it is like taking a college course on the history of music in this country, especially if you’re from New York, like I am.

One part is more personal, about his upbringing; the second part is about once he became a star, how he met Christie Brinkley and how MTV starting in the 80’s propelled his career.

If you like music, this will be right up your alley.

— Baseball’s trade deadline is this coming Thursday; what teams will be sellers, what teams will be buyers? It is really hard to tell right now. 

There are only three American League teams that are further than 5.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot; there are only four NL teams further than six games out of the last Wild Card spot. 

How many players on those seven non-contenders will be valuable trade chips?

Which teams on the cusp of contending will throw in the towel and sell players?

Should be an interesting week…….

— There was only one baseball game Sunday that started at 4:00; weird scheduling; there was the Sunday night game on ESPN, but only one 4:00 game? 

Why???

— A’s 7, Astros 1
A’s went to Houston and swept the four-game series, holding Houston to seven runs. 

A’s are 9-7 in their last sixteen games.

Houston leads the AL West by four games, over Seattle/Texas.

— Our fantasy baseball league has a 10-day week the game after the All-Star break; A’s rookie Nick Kurtz had quite a game this week:

He went 22 for 37, with 51 total bases.
13 runs scored, 15 RBI
His on-base percentage was .634.
Tremendous performance.

— Pirates 6, Arizona 0
Streaky Pirates have won five of their last six games.
Under is 9-1 in Paul Skenes’ last ten starts.
Arizona scored one run in three games since they started selling players off.

— Reds 2, Rays 1
Tampa Bay got swept in Cincinnati, scoring 2-1-2 runs.
Reds are 16-6 in their last 22 home games.
Rays have lost 10 of their last 13 games.

— Brewers 3, Marlins 2
Marlins led 2-1 after the 7th inning.
Blake Perkins had the game-winning hot for Milwaukee.
Eury Perez allowed only four baserunners, one run in 5 IP for Miami.

— Famous birthdays, July 28th:
Bill Bradley, 82
Sally Struthers, 78
Doug Collins, 74
Clint Longley, 73

Carmelo Martínez, 65
Elizabeth Berkley, 53
Hannah Waddingham, 51
Manu Ginobili, 48

DeMeco Ryans, 41
Darin Ruf, 39
Walker Buehler, 31
Malik Nabers, 22

— Watching the Hall of Famers get introduced on YouTube, it has to be pretty amazing to be one of those guys; for one weekend a year, you’re an immortal.

If you’ve never been to Cooperstown and you really like baseball, put it on your bucket list, it is worth the trip, and it is quite a drive.

— Sunday night, I crossed paths with two younger guys wearing Mariners’ caps; they had just come back to Albany from seeing Ichiro Suzuki getting inducted in Cooperstown- they loved the experience, said it was well worth the cross-country trip.

— Speaking of which, the person who didn’t vote for Ichiro to get into the Hall of Fame should step forward and say why. It is a free country, but it would be nice to know why the person was an idiot in his voting.

— Rangers 8, Braves 1
Texas is 8-1 since the All-Star break; they’re tied with Seattle for the last AL Wild Card spot.
Rangers are 34-20 at home, 22-30 on the road.
Atlanta is 18-34 on the road.

— Tigers 10, Blue Jays 4
Detroit led 3-0 after seven innings, scored 7 more in 8th inning.
Jack Flaherty tossed six scoreless innings to get the win.
Just the second win for Detroit in their last 14 games.

— Kansas City Royals signed P Seth Lugo to a two-year, $46M contract extension; 35-year old Lugo is 23-14, 2.98 in 52 starts for the Royals the last two seasons. 

Early season trends for Week 1 NFL matchups:

— Cowboys @ Eagles
Dallas is 4-2 SU/5-1 ATS in its last six road openers.
Since 2007, Cowboys are 14-4 ATS in road openers.
Over is 5-3-1 in their last nine road openers.

This is first time Philly opened at home since 2019.
Last four years, Eagles are 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1.
Eagles are 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five home openers

— Chiefs vs Chargers (@ San Paolo, Brazil)
Last ten years, Chiefs are 8-2 SU/7-3 ATS in Week 1.
Over is 7-1-1 in Kansas City’s last nine Week 1 games.

Last six years, Chargers are 5-1 SU in Week 1.
Last five years, under is 4-1 in their Week 1 games.

— Giants @ Commanders
Since 2011, Giants are 2-11 SU/2-10-1 ATS in Week 1.
Last eight years, under is 7-1 in their Week 1 games.
Since 2009, Giants are 5-9-1 ATS in their road opener.

Last seven years, Washington is 4-3 SU/ATS in Week 1.
Over is 4-2 in their last six Week 1 games.
Last five years, Commanders are 4-1 SU/3-2 ATS in their home opener.

— Cardinals @ Saints
Last six years, Arizona is 3-3 SU/6-0 ATS in its road opener.
Last seven years, under is 5-2 in their road openers.
Last six years, Cardinals are 2-3-1 SU/5-1 ATS in Week 1 games.

Since 2015, Saints are 4-6 SU/2-8 ATS in their home opener.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine home openers.
Last 11 years, New Orleans is 5-6 SU/2-9 ATS in Week 1 games.

— Dolphins @ Colts
Last four years, Dolphins are 4-1 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Last 10 years, Miami is 6-4 SU/7-3 ATS in its road opener.
Under is 19-4 in their last 23 road openers. 

Since 2014, Colts are 0-10-1 SU/2-8-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven Week 1 games.
Last six years, Colts are 3-3 SU/4-2 ATS in home openers. 

— Raiders @ Patriots
Last six years, Raiders are 4-2 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2007, Raiders are 12-5-1 ATS in their road opener.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight road openers.

Last four years, Patriots are 0-4 SU/0-3-1 ATS in home openers.
Last seven years, under is 6-0-1 in their Week 1 games.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road openers.

Steelers @ Jets
Pittsburgh won/covered its last five road openers.
Under is 11-1 in their last dozen road openers.
This is 10th time in 11 years Steelers open on the road.

Last six years, Jets are 1-5 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Last two years, Jets won/covered their home opener.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers.

Panthers @ Jaguars
Last six years, Panthers are 1-5 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2009, Carolina is 5-11 SU/ATS in road openers.
Under is 8-4 in Carolina’s last 12 home openers.

Last 8 years, Jacksonville is 4-4 SU/5-3 ATS in Week 1.
Since 2012, Jaguars are 3-10 SU/ATS in home openers.
Jaguars’ last four home openers stayed under the total. 

— Famous birthdays, July 27th:
Haven Moses, 79
Bob Klein, 78
Mack Calvin, 78
Brian Kingman, 72
Hugh Green, 65

Alex Rodriguez, 50
Max Scherzer, 41
DeMarre Carroll, 39
Ryan Tannehill, 37
Drew Rasmussen, 30

— Bengals @ Browns
Bengals started 0-1 in five of the last six seasons.
Under is 5-1 in their last six season openers.
Bengals are 1-5 SU/3-3 ATS in last six road openers. 

Since 2005, Browns are 2-17-1 SU in Week 1 games.
Last six years, Browns are 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS in home openers.
Over is 5-1 in their last six home openers.

— Buccaneers @ Falcons
Last six years, Bucs are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Tampa Bay is 7-3 SU/ATS in its last ten road openers.
Over is 7-3 in Tampa Bay’s last ten home openers.

Last seven years, Falcons are 1-6 SU/2-5 ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2008, Atlanta is 12-5 SU/13-4 ATS in home openers.
Since 2004, under is 15-6 in their road openers.

— 49ers @ Seahawks
Since 2015, 49ers are 7-4 SU/6-5 ATS in Week 1 games.
49ers are 4-6 ATS in their last ten road openers.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight road openers. 

Seahawks started out 1-0 five of the last six years.
Seattle is 3-6 ATS in its last nine home openers.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 home openers.

— Titans @ Broncos
Last five years, Titans are 1-4 SU/ATS in season openers.
Under is 4-1 in their last five road openers.
Since 2012, Tennessee is 3-10 ATS in home openers.

Last six years, Denver is 1-5 SU/3-3 ATS in Week 1 games.
Broncos’ last six home openers stayed under the total.
Last three years, Denver scored 16-16-6 points in its home opener.

— Texans @ Rams
Last six years, Texans are 1-5 SU/4-2 ATS in their road opener.
Under is 7-3 in its last ten road openers.
Last six years, Houston is 4-2 ATS in its season opener. 

Under McVay, Rams are 6-2 SU/ATS in home openers.
Rams won six of last eight season openers.
Over is 3-1 in their last four home openers.

— Lions @ Packers
Last four years, Detroit is 2-2 SU/4-0 ATS in Week 1 games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight season openers.
Lions are 6-3 ATS in their last nine road openers.

This is first time since 2018 that Packers are at home in Week 1.
Since 2013, Green Bay is 12-0 SU/9-3 ATS in home openers.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight home openers.

— Ravens @ Bills
Last nine years, Ravens are 7-2 SU/ATS in Week 1.
Since 2008, Baltimore is 11-6 ATS in road openers.
Over is 12-5-1 in Ravens’ last 18 road openers.

Last eight years, Bills are 5-3 SU/4-4 ATS in Week 1.
Last six years, Buffalo os 5-1 SU/3-3 ATS in home openers.
Under is 7-2 in their last ten road openers.

— Vikings @ Bears
Last nine years, Minnesota is 6-3 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2017, Vikings are 1-5-1 SU/1-6 ATS in road openers.
Under is 10-1 in their last eleven home openers.

Last 11 years, Chicago started season 0-1 eight times.
Last five years, Bears are 4-1 SU/3-2 ATS in home openers.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers.