Xam’s Daily Gems:
Phillies Money Line -188 FanDuel 1 Unit
The Phillies will clinch the NL East division with a win tonight, and Aaron Nola will take the ball tonight to try and make it happen. After losing 3 out of 4 games to the Mets, the Phillies come in a little wounded and NEED to get the division wrapped up. Aaron Nola has put together another splendid season for the Phillies, posting a 3.54 ERA and 1.17 WHIP this season. Unsurprisingly, he’s been EVEN BETTER at home this season, pitching to a 3.31 ERA, .219 batting average against, and 1.07 WHIP. For the Cubs, Nate Pearson will operate as opener before a bullpen game with the likely bulk guy being Hayden Wesneski. Wesneski made his first appearance in 2 months with a right forearm strain. Simply put, this is a BAD SPOT for the Cubs and a bullpen type game. The Phillies are 52-26 at Citizens Bank Park this year which is the single best home record in baseball. They’re AVERAGING over 5 runs per game this year at home this year as well! The Phillies and their fans are ready to party, and tonight is the PERFECT opportunity to wrap up the division. If the lineup can show up, Aaron Nola and the bullpen SHOULD be able to take care of the rest!
Jaguars/Bills Over 46.5 Points -110 FanDuel 1 Unit
The Jaguars enter this game 0-2 and they need a win to save their season. Falling to 0-3 in the AFC is in all likelihood a death blow to one’s playoff hopes. Trevor Lawrence is simply TOO GOOD and the Jaguars just have so many weapons. Despite Evan Engram being out, Christian Kirk, former Bill Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. form a formidable pass catching group. Travis Etienne leads the backfield and has the talent to go off as well! Meanwhile, we ALL KNOW how good Buffalo’s offense is. They’ve scored 65 points in their first two games this season. Josh Allen is playing great football and offensive coordinator Joe Brady LOVES pounding the rock with James Cook. The bottom line is that both of these teams have ELITE QBs that are capable of taking over games. The Bills got shredded by Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in Week 1 in their own building, and their Week 2 win was skewed by the injury to Dolphins QB Tua Tagavailoa going down with a concussion during the game. The weather should be good and enable BOTH QBs to lead their respective teams to points all night long!
Diamondbacks Money Line -174 FanDuel 1 Unit
The Diamondbacks choked away an 8-0 lead yesterday to the Brewers and suddenly find themselves in the last Wild Card spot in the National League with just a 2-game lead over the Braves! Tonight’s game against the division rival Giants is essentially a must-win game. Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez gets the ball for the Diamondbacks tonight, and although he’s been TERRIBLE this season, his last two starts have been better. He pitched 5 innings of 2 run baseball against the Brewers and then 6.1 innings of 2 run baseball in Colorado, a notoriously tough place to pitch. Despite his lack of success this season, he’s a veteran pitcher who’s pitched in BIG SPOTS throughout his career. The Giants counter with young righty Hayden Birdsong. He’s been nothing short of BRUTAL on the road this season, pitching to an UGLY 5.55 ERA, .217 batting average against, and .140 WHIP! It’s hard to overstate how tough of a matchup that makes tonight’s start for him. No team in baseball has scored more runs than Arizona this year. They’re averaging a WHOPPING 5.76 runs per game at home this year! They’re averaging 6.6 runs per game over their last 20 games. Expect Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to treat this game with the URGENCY it deserves! If Rodriguez and the bullpen can figure things out, Arizona SHOULD get themselves back on track tonight!