Tyreek Hill suffered a severe knee injury in the Dolphins’ 27-21 victory over the Jets (+2.5) on Monday night. VSiN contributor Dr. David Chao explained why a dislocated knee requires immediate hospitalization. The Broncos easily covered the closing -7.5 in a 28-3 victory over the Bengals. >>Dave Tuley‘s ATS report for Week 4.
MLB marathon
This is one of my favorite days of the sports calendar. Four MLB playoff games in a row with all eight teams and their backers still blissfully undefeated.
VSiN.com managing editor Adam Burke previews the four Wild-Card series, starting with the matchup involving his hometown Guardians:
Tigers -110 vs. Guardians -110 / G1 in Cleveland 1:08 ET, ESPN
Maybe this is the Cleveland cynic in me, but I do think that the Tigers win Game 1 with Skubal and ultimately find a way to win one of the next two. If nothing else, starting with them at -110 in a Skubal game is probably a good equity play since DraftKings had Detroit -150 for Game 1. >>More.
Padres +105 vs. Cubs -125 / G1 in Chicago 3:08 ET, ABC
San Diego likely does have a pitching edge, but the nature of run scoring in the playoffs lends itself towards the offense better at hitting the long ball. That is Chicago. >>More.
Red Sox +135 vs. Yankees -165 / G1 in New York 6:08 ET, ESPN
I could absolutely envision a scenario where Boston takes Game 1 and we see the line flip to Boston as a favorite. I still think they have the edge over Giolito and/or Bello, even if both guys had some success during the regular season. >>More.
Reds +205 vs. Dodgers -245 / G1 in Los Angeles 9:08 ET, ESPN
As Mike Petriello of MLB.com and Statcast fame pointed out, the Dodgers just allowed the lowest batting average ever for a month at .173. They did so by having the highest K% in the league at 30.9%. The Reds are an awesome story and their starters should keep them in the game, but the Dodgers are just too much. >>More.
Adam will file his Best Bets for the Game 1s later this morning.
Tuley, Makinen on MLB playoffs
Dave Tuley weighs in with his takes on the first round, but first I need to congratulate Dave for collecting $9,700 for first place in the Baseball Season Wins Challenge at the Westgate SuperBook. He went 23-7 on the MLB season win totals.
Dave’s usual playoff betting strategy has adjusted with the times:
I usually bet Unders in postseason baseball since they tend to be lower-scoring, tighter games; however, I think the oddsmakers overadjusted (or is that underadjusted?) by making this [Detroit-Cleveland] total just 6 runs.
>>Dave’s new rule of thumb for betting Totals and series picks.
Steve Makinen has two analysis pieces for you:
>>A regular-season wrapup and look ahead for his Bullpen Betting Systems
ICYMI: Greg Peterson’s Game 1 picks.
MLB resources
VSiN Pro subscribers have access to our MLB picks page.
Ravens hit with injuries
No word yet on the status of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring), but CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) and LB Roquan Smith (hamstring) are expected to miss multiple weeks.
Baltimore was -9.5 on the lookahead line vs. the Texans; as of Monday night, the line is at -3.5. The Total dropped from 45.5 to 42.5.
FYI: Giants WR Malik Nabers is out for the season with torn ACL.
Monday NFL steam alerts from DonBest Sports:
- NO +1.5 vs. NYG
- SF-LAR Over 46.5
- NE-BUF Under 50
- DEN +5 vs. PHI
Get real-time steam alerts from the DonBest Screen. Sign up now for a 7-day free trial at go.donbest.com. Use the promo code VSIN10 for 10% off your initial subscription.
>NFL Week 6 Hub with stories and resources.
College Football Week 6
Zach Cohen shares what he learned from CFB Week 5 (and NFL Week 4).
Josh Appelbaum will post his CFB Early Sharp Report this morning.
>CFB Week 6 Hub with stories and resources.
Listen now: Tim Murray and Adam Burke sort through the winners and losers on the VSiN College Football Betting Podcast.
Quick Hits
Contest Corner: Circa Survivor lost an entry on the Jets and another on the Bengals, so there are 12,404 live entries heading into Week 5. Circa Grandissimo remains at 55. In the EdgeBoost Average Joe Contest, congrats to J. Miyke for winning the tiebreaker on eight-way tie of 7-0 records. >>Leaderboard.
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis has posted 32 team previews on our NHL page.
UFC: First Strike podcast hosts Dave Ross and Rob Moreno take a first look at Saturday’s UFC 320.
