WESLEY SCOTT
Nationals vs. Padres
Play: Padres -115
The Washington Nationals (71-47 Overall, 36-22 Away) travel to face the San Diego Padres (54-66 Overall, 32-27 Home) in game one of this four game weekend set.
The Nationals are coming off a 3-2 home loss against the Angels. Washington only had four hits in the loss.
Tonight Edwin Jackson (3-2, 3.86 ERA) takes the mound for the Nationals. Jackson will be appearing in his ninth outing this season and making his first start of the year against the Padres.
Jackson is 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA in four road appearances (two starts) this season. He has performed better at night.
Jackson is 3-1 in four starts (seven outings) with a 3.30 ERA in those outing this season. Opposing hitters are averaging .259 against him compared to .300 during day showings.
The Padres should be feel confident at home after a three game sweep against the Phillies. Their most recent win being a 3-0 shutout yesterday.
San Diego starts Jhoulys Chacin (11-8, 4.06 ERA) against the Nationals. Chacin has made one start against Washington this season.
He got a 5-3 no decision team win. Pitching 4.1 innings at Washington, the Nationals bats hit .400 against him in his short start.
Chacin has been stellar at home this year. He is 7-2 with a 1.86 ERA in 12 home starts this season. Opposing lineups are averaging .183 against him at Petco Park this year.
Chacin has been decent in night starts. He is 8-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 18 night starts this year. Allowing hitters to average .228 against him in night starts.
TEDDY COVERS
Ravens vs. Dolphins
Play: Ravens +3
The Miami Dolphins have no business as favorites in this ballgame. One of the biggest ‘red flags’ in preseason for any team – let alone a favorite – is when a coach starts whining about his injury situation. That’s exactly what Adam Gase has done this week. When a coach can’t handle any more injuries, the entire team seems to feel it, and you tend to see significantly less intensity for a meaningless August game. And Gase has been dealing with the cumulative effect of the injury bug all week, even cancelling practice on Tuesday to go through a ‘no pads’ walk through.
Gase has every reason to whine considering the state of his offensive line right now. Jay Cutler is supposed to get his first game action with Miami here, but how long he’ll be on the field is very much in question, especially given the state of the Dolphins offensive line right now. Center Mike Pouncey (hip) isn’t likely to play. Right tackle Ja’Wuan James (shoulder), has missed practices all week as has guard-center Kraig Urbik (back). Guard Ted Larson (biceps) is already out.
This quote speaks volumes, when it comes to ‘coach speak’: Gase: “Coach Harbaugh always has his crew ready to go very early, and they’re going to be looking to work on certain things. and for us to be able to play them, that’s good for our guys.” Read between the lines here. Gase wants competition. He couldn’t care less about winning.
Baltimore has been hit by the injury bug as well, but John Harbaugh has taken a different approach to the Ravens injury woes. Ozzie Newsome is one of the best GM’s in football, and Baltimore routinely has better depth than the vast majority of NFL teams. Harbaugh sat most of the Ravens veterans last week, but he’s said that he expects a number of those vets to suit up and play tonight.
And Harbaugh is clearly a ‘bet-on’ coach in August. Baltimore went 4-0 SU in the preseason last year, winning SU as an underdog twice; the second time in three years that the Ravens went 4-0 in August both SU and ATS. They won SU as an underdog in their preseason debut against Washington last week; worth backing again even without starting QB Joe Flacco expected to play. Live dog here!
JACK JONES
Colorado Rockies -1.5 +100
The Colorado Rockies are 37-22 at home this season. They are hitting .302 and scoring 6.2 runs per game at Coors Field this year. They exploded for 17 runs against the Braves yesterday and should have no problem covering the run line today once again.
The Braves are just 2-7 in their last nine games overall. Lucas Sims won't be able to stop the bleeding. It has been a rough experiment with him this season. Sims is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA and 1.443 WHIP in three starts this year.
Jeff Hoffman is one of the more talented young starters in the Rockies' rotation. He has gone 6-4 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.372 WHIP in 15 starts this year. But he has been great in his last two home starts, giving up just 3 earned runs in 13 innings while striking out 13 batters.
Colorado is 29-15 in day games this season. The Braves are 2-9 in their last 11 road games. Atlanta is 8-20 in its last 28 games overall. The Rockies are 12-4 in their last 16 home games. Colorado is 12-1 in its last 13 home meetings with Atlanta.
JOHN MARTIN
Yankees vs. Mets
Play: Over 7
This is a very low total for a Yankees games. They can cover this total on their own today and I wouldn't be surprised. This total can't be this low with Steven Matz pitching today. He is 2-6 with a 5.54 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 12 starts this season, including 0-3 with a 9.33 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in four homes starts. I know Luis Severino is having a fine season, but he won't completely shut down the Mets, either. And Severino gave up 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings in his last start against Boston and may be showing signs of wearing down in really his first full season. The Mets are 32-10 OVER vs. a starting pitcher whose gives up 5.5 or less hits/start this season. The Mets are 40-19 OVER when the total is 7 to 8.5 this season. The OVER is 4-0 in Severino's last four starts.
TJ PEMBERTON
Blue Jays +1.5
The Toronto Blue Jays are 57-62 on the season and last in the AL East 11 games behind Boston. Toronto is 6-4 over their last ten games and lost to the Rays 6-4 on Tuesday after beating them in game one of this series. Toronto is 20-29 in divisional games and carries a 25-19 daytime record. The Blue Jays are 32-29 on their home field. Chris Rowley will take the mound for the Blue Jays. Rowley is 1-0 on the season with 5.1 innings pitched in his debut. Rowley carries a 1.69 ERA with 3 strikeouts and on walks. Rowley pitched 5.1 innings in his first start allowing one earned run on five hits.
Buster Sports
Cardinals at Pirates
Play: Pirates -134
The Cardinals and the Pirates both loss games yesterday that they should have won, as they both gave up 4-0 leads and their bullpens let them down late in their games. Tonight they start a four-game series in Pittsburgh with both teams very much alive for a playoff spot. The starting pitchers for tonight’s game are for the Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (12-5, 4.87 ERA) and he will face the Pirates RH Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.50 ERA) Wainwright has really had his troubles on the road this year. In 11 road starts he is sporting a 7.00 ERA with a WHIP of 1.67. We like the Pirates to continue Wainwright’s road woes tonight. As for Taillon, he has had his trouble the past couple of months but in his last two starts, there are signs of the old Jameson Taillion surfacing. We like him tonight moving forward and we see him posting his third quality start in a row.
The Prez
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville
Play: Tampa Bay -2
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-1 (0-1 ATS) will be the guests of the Jacksonville Jaguars 1-0 (1-0 ATS) on Thursday night at Everbank Field, in Jacksonville, Florida with the scheduled kickoff slated for 8:00 pm ET. The contest will be broadcast by ESPN.
This Week #2 National Football League preseason event offers up a second look at what will be an improved Buccaneers offense. The Tampa Bay first unit will see their maximum snaps in Week #3 but there is a sorted effort to have this Jameis Winston led unit in regular season form by next week and that means giving the first team the entire first quarter tonight at Everbank Field.
During this week of practice the Bucs and Jaguars have been holding joint sessions in Jacksonville and many believe this gives the home town club a fighting chance, even an edge in tonight's event, if you buy into the theory. While this is an unofficial game and won't be reflected on the regular season record both franchises are looking for a form of 2016 redemption.
The Jags were once again inconsistent with their play on both sides of the ball a season ago, a campaign that saw the club record a 3-13 record. The last time Jacksonville sniffed the postseason was a decade ago and they've won only one playoff game since the 2000 playoffs.
While the Buccaneers didn't register the same success on the defensive side of the ball as the Jaguars a season ago this week's performances by both clubs offered Tampa and Winston the eye-candy edge. While it isn't being reported through the Florida or national media there is some infighting among the Jacksonville side and it showed during the joint sessions this week.
The Buccaneers not only upgraded their offense this offseason the coaching staff is serious about having the roster ready for Week #1 and are giving the first unit more snaps in both practice with the plan to do the same in this Week #2 event.
The Jaguars defensive easily outperformed the offense in 2016. But it is worth noting that the lack of offensive consistency with the defense facing a deficit most Sundays last season their overall stop-unit numbers are skewed. The Jaguars are doing their best to dummy down the offense, at least in the preseason, to minimize Blake Bortles in-game decisions.
Don't believe that head coach Doug Marrone wants Bortles to throw the ball less and less this season?
When asked what the offensive game plan was going into the preseason schedule this past week coach Marrone was asked how many time per game did he and his offensive staff want Bortles throwing the football Marrone said zero.
A run-heavy game relying on the defense to secure favorable field position this year is the plan. The Jags want to feature rookie running back Leonard Fournette and their defense this year as their staples.
Jacksonville's defense surrendered just 6.5 yards per pass attempt a season ago and 3.8 yards per carry, third and sixth best in the league, respectively. This is, however, a defense without ball hawks and playmakers. The Jaguars allowed a mere 5,157 total yards a season ago but still surrendered 400 points. As mechanically and scheme sound as the Jags defensive unit is they don't make big plays and are a bend and break unit.
Jeff Benton
My Thursday freebie comes in preseason football as I play the Bills and Eagles to hold Under the total.
Both teams figure to give their starters a longer look tonight, but that has not mattered in the recent past as far as putting points on the board are concerned, as Buffalo held Under the total in 3 of their 4 preseason games last year, and the season before saw both of their away preseason games also hold Under.
With just 10 points scored last week at home against Minnesota, Buffalo's August mark the past 3-plus seasons during the preseason stands at 10-4 Under the total, so don't expect this game tonight to see too many points scored.
Likewise, Philly only scored 9-points last week at Green Bay in a game that held Under the total, and 3 of their 4 played in August a season ago also landed Under the total.
Let's look for the Bills and Eagles to land Under once again here on Thursday night in the preseason.
1* BUFFALO-PHILADELPHIA UNDER
Bob Balfe
Dolphins -2.5
Offensive lines mean a lot when it comes to football. The Ravens Offense Line is a mess right now and without Flacco in the game there is no reason to get any of them hurt heading into the regular season. Baltimore also has a few running backs that are not a full speed after missing all of last year. I just don’t see many points from this team tonight. On the other side of the ball the Dolphins have decent depth on defense. The Jay Cutler experience starts tonight for the Fins. You can say what you want about Cutler, but I will take him all day in a preseason game. This Miami teams is more prepared at this point in the preseason. I like them at home.
SPORTS WAGERS
Edmonton +101 over WINNIPEG
After 30 years of futility, it doesn't take much positivity to fire up the Blue Bombers hype train. A 5-2 start in the Manitoba capital has this year’s football club skyrocketing up the power rankings. From the outside looking in, it might be a nice story but if you watched the Bombers this season you'd understand that this team could easily be 2-5. To start the year, Winnipeg escaped an overtime game in Regina 43-40 after blowing a double digit lead at halftime. In Week 6, the Bombers overcame improbable odds to defeat the Alouettes even though they were down 12 points with just over a minute and a half to go. Finally, in Week 7, the Bombers had no business winning at Ottawa, but Redblacks' coach Rick Campbell threw up all over himself and gave up a costly single that kicked the window wide open for Winnipeg to steal the victory. Last Week, the Bombers were a small road favorite at winless Hamilton and not only did they cover but they crushed the lowly Ti-Cats 39-12. A blowout win like that will turn some heads in the market but don't color us impressed. Talk of the Bombers being in the same class as the Eskimos or Stampeders is a bit premature. Winnipeg has failed in both of its previous attempts against the best the West has to offer in Calgary and B.C.. Going from a -2 point favorite at the Ti-Cats to just a one point dog against one of the league's top teams looks like an overreaction based on last week's results. Had this game been played a few weeks ago what would this line be? A three-game winning streak for the Blue Bombers makes for a nice story in the local papers but this game against Edmonton is a big step up in competition. While the Bombers defense had their best game of the season in Week 8, it came against Hamilton. Not impressive. This unit still ranks 8th in the CFL in points allowed per game at 29.9, seventh in net offense and passing yards per game at 380.4 and 324.3 respectively. With one of the leagues’ best QB's coming to town, the Winnipeg D is being asked to run before it can crawl.
What the Eskimos have been able to do so far this season has been impressive. Their roster looks like the castoffs from the set of “The Walking Dead” as the bodies in their infirmary continue to stack up. Injuries are the biggest knock against the undefeated Esks coming into Week 9, but so far they've survived with the “next man up” approach. The loaded IR notwithstanding, the Eskimos are league leaders on both sides of the ball. The offense ranks first in net yards per game (407.1), passing yards per game (332.7) and they've owned the clock this season averaging 33 minutes and five seconds per game, which is tops in the CFL. Ball control is everything and there is no better man to have the pigskin in his hands than quarterback Mike Reilly. Reilly has not let the Eskimos makeshift offensive line become an issue, as he's been out of this world by completing an amazing 72.7% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions. On the other side of the ball, Edmonton is first in fewest yards allowed per game (308), first in passing yards allowed per game (252.9), first in quarterback pressures (60) and third in the league allowing 24.1 points per game. It doesn't matter who wears the Green and Gold, these guys have come to play every week.
Like Winnipeg, the Eskimos have played their fair share of close games but the tone towards those victories has been much more negative than the Bombers. Maybe because the Eskies have played down to the likes of Hamilton (twice) and Ottawa while Winnipeg has exceeded early season prognostications. The buzz around this contest is at a near fever pitch, which is saying a lot in a league that doesn't really kick it into high gear until the leaves turn colors. Bombers coach Mike O'Shea changed his team's preparation by closing practice to the public. O'Shea loves to mix in a trick play or two but those often come with a high risk/reward and the Esks will likely be ready for anything. Bombers defensive coordinator Richie Hall has rated his unit's performance “a five or a six” even after their dominant performance in Hamilton and we couldn't agree more. The Bombers have relied on winning the turnover battle with 14 takeaways but those are not skill plays, instead, they make up the in-game variance we often discuss When it comes to what these two can do man for man on the field, this is a bad matchup for the Bombers. Reilly should have a field day torching this vulnerable defense. Almost every time the Bombers look like they are about to take that next step, they flounder badly and this one sets up for that exact same thing. The only thing the Bombers have proven this year is that they can beat the East and they can get lucky in doing so. That’s not enough to get behind on a short week against one of the powers.