Guardians make stunning comeback in AL Central
It feels like the MLB playoffs have started a week early.
The Guardians, who were 10.5 games behind Detroit to start September, beat the Tigers 5-2 Tuesday night to take the division lead (on the head-to-head tiebreaker). Cleveland is now -185 to win the Central vs. Detroit’s +145.
In other action with playoff implications, the Yankees clinched a wild-card berth with a walk-off win vs. the White Sox and only trail Toronto by a game in the AL East. The Mariners also clinched a spot. And the Astros are only a half-game behind the Tigers for the final wild-card berth.
The NL West is still up for grabs with the Dodgers (walk-off loss) just 1.5 games ahead of the Padres (win). In the NL wild-card race, the Mets rallied to beat the Cubs 9-7 to take a one-game lead over the Reds (loss) and Diamondbacks (win).
Well, at least Dave Ross and Jensen Lewis will be in a good mood this morning on VSiN By The Books (7-10 a.m. ET).
Jensen, of course, played in Cleveland and lives there. I’m not sure why Dave is a Mets fan, but my guess is it’s because he grew up in Virginia Beach, where the Triple-A team was a Mets affiliate for many years.
Greg Peterson has seven plays for today’s menu, including the Tigers-Guardians rematch. Adam Burke and Steve Makinen will post their contributions later this morning.
New Heisman favorite
It was a newsy day in Oklahoma: Sooners QB John Mateer, the Heisman Trophy favorite, will miss a month with a broken hand and Oklahoma State fired coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start in his 21st season.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is now the favorite at +700 with Oregon’s Dante Moore at +850 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Josh Appelbaum has his early CFB Sharp Report, which includes Alabama at Georgia and LSU at Ole Miss.
Tuesday steam alerts from DonBest Sports:
Florida State-Virginia Over 59.5
New Mexico State-New Mexico Under 54.5
Arkansas State +2.5 vs. UL-Monroe (and Under 55).
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.
>CFB Week 5 Hub with stories and resources.
Survivor debate
Gill Alexander and A Numbers Game producer Kelley Bydlon run through the seven biggest NFL Week 4 favorites — and why you might want to hold off on using the 16.5-point favored Bills (vs. the Saints) in your survivor pool. >>Watch the segment.
Where did the time go? Bye weeks begin next week, which means it’s time for Steve Makinen to roll out his pre-bye week betting systems.
QB Update: Jackson Dart was named the Giants starter vs. the Chargers, replacing Russell Wilson. The market responded by making New York a 6-point underdog (from +6.5).
Everything we do on Week 4 will be posted here, including Mike Somich‘s look ahead to Week 5 in search of closing line value.
Ryder Cup Best Bets
VSiN golf analyst Wes Reynolds previews the Ryder Cup, which starts Friday at Bethpage Black in New York.
Wes offers his usual complete report — the history, the course, player-by-player analysis — and has two plays for your consideration.
Spoiler alert: You may need to leave your red, white and blue golf shirt in the closet.
Wes also joined Matt Brown and Kelley Bydlon on Long Shots, VSiN’s golf betting podcast.
>Watch.
>Listen.
Quick Hits
Futures: In the new episode of Pod To The Futures, Jonathan Von Tobel and Mitch Moss discuss Cam Skattebo’s chances to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, their Heisman candidates, and dive into the hot battle for AL MVP between Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge. >Watch. >Listen.
Horse Racing: 1/ST Bet’s Jeremy Plonk has picks for today’s Churchill Downs card. Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $250 sign-up bonus.
