TTL Edition: #76: Around the Horn Wagers
MLB Favorites, Triple Play Thursday Parlay, Thirsty Thursday Laughs, & “What Are You Willing To Sacrifice”
Wednesday Recap:
TTL Pod Picks (5-4):
Colt’s Picks (2-3): CIN/PIT F5 o4.5 L, TOR/ATL o7.5 L, MIN/CHW F5 o4.5 W, White Sox F5 ML W, DBacks F5 ML L
RMag’s Picks (2-1): Mets F5 -0.5 W, Reds F5 -0.5 L, LAA/HOU o8.5 W
Wednesday Warrior: Wizards +6.5 W
Welcome back to the TTL Newsletter! The Crew’s coming off a positive day on the Pod, a positive day for their personal plays, and locked in for another full day of cashin’ tickets! Be sure to follow TTL, Colt, & RMags on the Action Network App for all of their daily plays (@TalkingTheLine/@Cash_with_Colt/@RMAGS). Colt and RMags have 2 MLB picks each for today’s Edition, and of course have also hammered out the Triple Play Thursday Parlay. This week’s Special Plays are 3-0, and the Crew’s feeling confident about a swift move to 4-0. Lock it in while the lines are good! RMags brings back an oldie but a good with his Sidebar, and shares a classic drunk fails compilation. Colt shares his perspective on sacrificing your possessions now for better possessions in the future in his Inspiration Corner. Thanks for stopping by! Be a friend, tell a friend, and let’s bankrupt these sportsbooks together! It’s a beautiful day to place a few bets! Let’s cash some tickets!
Colt’s Picks
Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox F5 ML (-128) (1:10pm CST)
For the 3rd game of this 4 game series Lance Lynn will take the mound for the White Sox, and he has been nothing short of dominant. Over 29.2 innings, in 4 starts, Lynn holds a 3-1 record with a 1.52 ERA, .248 OBP, 35 K, 8 BB, and a .978 WHIP. Lance Lynn is having by far the best start to a season he has had in a while, and I believe he’ll have plenty in the tank for this Twins team that ranks 8th in the MLB in F5 Inning RPG averaging 2.79 runs. The White Sox are 3rd in the MLB in F5 Inning RPGA holding an average of 1.76 runs, and not mention the White Sox are 1st in the MLB in F5 Inning RPG with an average of 3.82. The Twins will send out righty Michael Pineda who holds a 2-1 record, with a 2.43 ERA, in 6 starts. Pineda has been solid in his 33.1 innings this year, however I don’t believe he will slow down the Sox bats one bit this afternoon. The Twins have scored a combined 12 runs in the F5 innings of their last 5 games, and the Sox have scored a combined 21 runs in the F5 Innings of their past 4 games. With 2 of those games for the Sox being against these same Twins you should back them with confidence to do the same thing again. Colt’s Pick: Chicago White Sox F5 ML (-128)
San Francisco Giants F5 ML (-154) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (5:35pm CST)
The Pittsburgh Pirates just dropped 2 out of 3 to the Reds, and now face a red hot Giants team who are coming off a 2 game sweep of the Rangers at home. The Giants do have to travel across the country for this series, however they get an extra travel day so the trip shouldn’t impact them. DeSclafani will take the mound for the Giants, and after being with the Reds for the past 5 seasons he’s played San Francisco has welcomed him with open arms. In 7 starts this year DeSclafani holds a 2-1 record with a 2.40 ERA, .191 BA, .241 OBP, .530 OPS, 36 K, 10 BB, and has been quietly having the best start of his career in the Bay. Wil Crowe is taking the bump for the Pirates and he has struggled through 4 starts this season. Over 15.2 innings Crowe holds a record of 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA, .343 OBP, 12 K, and 9 BB. The Giants’ hitters will be primed to jump all over Crowe with the wind blowing straight out to right field at PNC Park today. The Giants are 13th in the MLB in F5 Inning RPG averaging 2.79 runs, and the Pirates are ranked 20th at 2.26 RPG. The Giants are 1st in the MLB in F5 Inning RPGA with an average of 1.61 runs, and the Pirates rank 24th with an average of 2.94 RPGA. I’ll take all of the Giants today, who are 3-1-1 SU in the F5 innings over their last 5 games. Colt’s Pick: San Francisco Giants F5 ML (-154)
RMag’s Picks
NY Yankees ML (-148) vs Tampa Bay Rays (6:10pm CST)
Despite Wednesday’s news of a small COVID outbreak within the Yanks organization, at the moment no players are affected. Gleyber Torres sat Wednesday out of an abundance of caution, but the rest of the squad is a full go. The pitching matchup is what I am keying in on in this matchup. Righty Jameson Taillon will take the mound for New York, and he will face off against left-hander Rich Hill. Although Hill has pitched well in his two most recent starts, the Yankees have seen a great deal of success against lefties this year, including a start against Hill himself where he allowed 4 ER through 6 IP. Against lefties on the season, New York ranks top ten in the MLB in BA, OBP, SLUG & OPS. On the other side of this pitching matchup, I really like Tampa’s inability to hit right handers as a key trend in this game. The Ray’s rank bottom ten in the league versus right handers in BA, OPS & SLUG. They do rank closer to the middle in OBP, however Taillon’s has kept batters off the bases via the walk this season, allowing more than one walk in only one game this year. Lastly, I like the Yankees bullpen to hold things down late in this game as New York ranks third in the MLB in bullpen ERA with a 2.73 ERA. Compare that to Tampa Bay’s 16th ranked bullpen with a 3.94 ERA, and you’ve got yourself a nice advantage late in the game. RMags’ Pick: New York Yankees ML (-148)
Miami Marlins ML (-120) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (8:40pm CST)
Trevor Rogers will take the bump for the Marlins tonight, and boy, oh boy has this 23rd been a beast in 2021. The left-hander comes into this matchup in Arizona holding a 1.89 ERA, including three scoreless outings, and allowing no more than 3 ER in any start. The concern in this matchup for Rogers would stem from the DBacks success versus lefties, ranking among the top ten offenses in the MLB against lefties. However, of the six teams that Rogers has faced this year, four of those squads also rank similarly to Arizona versus left-handers, and Rogers handled those teams with relative ease. Roger’s counterpart in this matchup will be Merrill Kelly for Arizona. Kelly has had a fairly inconsistent run in 2021, sporting a 5.40 ERA, most recently allowing 3 runs, 2 of them earned runs, to go along with five walks over 5.2 IP. To cap it off, these bullpens are significantly unmatched. Miami’s has dazzled, standing tied for sixth in the league with a 3.44 ERA, compared to Arizona’s spotty crew 26th with a 5.23 ERA. Give me Rogers to dominate, and Kelly to continue his inconsistency, and if necessary, the bullpens will surely play themselves out to form to close the game. RMags’ Pick: Miami Marlins ML (-120)
Special Play Of The Day: Triple Play Thursday Parlay
Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves Over 8.5 (11:20am CST)
To get this parlay off ground, we are heading to the over in this matchup featuring two struggling pitchers. Ross Stripling takes the mound for Toronto, coming in with a 6.61 ERA, that includes 12 ER over 16.1 IP. Charlie Morton will handle the workload for Atlanta, and he has been similarly inconsistent, holding a 4.98 ERA, and that does not include his most recent start that last 0.2 IP allowing 6 unearned runs. Needless to say we like this pitching matchup to squander a handful of runs. Both of these offenses hit righties well, and after a slow scoring start to the series, we like both teams to break out.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Brewers Under 6.5 (12:40pm CST)
This has got to be our favorite under of the day. Not only have these teams been low scoring in this series, you roll out to ace caliber pitchers in Jack Flaherty, and Corbin Burnes. Burnes is coming back from the IL after an asymptomatic COVID stoppage. Before the time off he was incredible, holding a 1.53 ERA, including a 1-hit 6IP shutout against these Cards. He has only one start allowing more than one run. Flaherty has been almost as stellar, rolling into the game with a 2.83 ERA and a 6-0 record. The Cardinals have given him some run support in his starts, however the vast majority featured lopsided pitching matchups. Give us another game that stays well under the total.
Oakland A’s vs Boston Red Sox F5 Under 4.5 (6:10pm CST)
To conclude the parlay, we’re heading to some first five inning action out in Boston. Sean Manaea will take the hill for Oakland and he is heating up. After a rough first outing to his season, he has allowed 9 ER over 36.2 IP, navigating his way through some tough hitting offenses. In his career, Manaea has found a way to neutralize Boston’s most dangerous hitter, JD Martinez, holding him to 1-9 lifetime. Of course, Martinez is not the entire offense, but man if you can keep him in check you’ve got yourself a good place to work from. Garrett Richards will get the start for Boston, and his numbers are better than they appear. His 4.54 ERA is on the right track after allowing 6 ER in his opening start of the season. To hammer it home, Oakland is one of the worst offenses in the MLB against right handers, sitting bottom five in batting average and OPS.
Triple Play Thursday Parlay: TOR/ATL o9, STL/MIL u7, OAK/BOS F5 u4.5 (Overall Odds: +624)
RMag’s Sidebar
Well folks, it has been a few weeks, but the return of the Thirsty Thursday drunk fails is back! Whether you are celebrating the thirstiest of all week days, or just love watching drunk idiots in their natural habitat, this video should hold you over until you have the opportunity to put a few back yourself. Cheers to the weekend, and cheers to the summer being right around the corner.
Colt’s Inspiration Corner
“What are You Willing to Sacrifice”
Has there ever been a time in your life where you’ve been presented with an opportunity, but when you thought of all the things you would have to give up in order to attain it you decided not to go after it? If so, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. It’s simply human nature not wanting to let go of the things we have worked for, or the possessions we currently have in our lives. However, I’m also here to tell you that the only way you can find success in this life is by learning to sacrifice the possessions you currently have for bigger and better possessions in the future. It’s always better to suffer temporary pain now for permanent pleasure later, rather than temporary pleasure now for permanent pain delivered in the future. My definition of success as you well know is being Happy, Fulfilled, & Centered, and those can’t be achieved without a little sacrifice from you before hand.
The reason I italicize possessions is because they come in many different forms. However, today I am speaking in terms of physical & non-physical possessions. The first type of possessions you have are your physical ones. These are things like money, the roof over your head, the car that you drive, the clothes on your back, and a million other things you could think of. These are the possessions that everyone can see, and with the right amount of work anyone can attain them as well. However, these possessions are not what truly makes you successful. Overflowing with these possessions can cause you to become complacent and lack the desire for a higher purpose in your life. When you make the choice to have less of these possessions it opens the door for more of the possessions that truly matter to enter your life.
These possessions are the non-physical ones and are mostly the ones that no one can see. Your possessions in this case are things like your time, energy, relationships, spiritual health, mental health, and well...you get the point. These possessions can oftentimes feel scarce, but if you sacrifice some of those physical possessions you will find that the non-physical ones become more abundant. Instead of chasing after all the possessions that everyone else is, why not chase after the possessions no one else seems to be searching for? Everyone seems to be lacking these non-physical possessions, but don’t want to give up some of their physical possessions in order to attain them. I can promise that those physical possessions will always be there, but the non-physical ones will not. Make the choice to take 1 step back with your physical possessions in order to take 4 steps forward with your non-physical ones. It’s a simple decision to make, and will only lead to bigger & better possessions of many kinds in your future.
Daily Challenge: Today’s phrase of the day is, “Sacrifice Now For Gain Later.” The most important possessions you have in your life are the non-physical ones. If you choose to sacrifice your physical possessions now, not only are they guaranteed to be more abundant in the future, your non-physical possessions will be overflowing as well. Take the time to nurture and focus on your non-physical possessions before you don’t have the opportunity to attain them at all. If you truly want to be successful, Happy, Fulfilled, & Centered, then you may have to make some sacrifices in areas you don’t want to. No one knows what those areas are but you, and the choice to let them go is entirely on your shoulders. “Stop admiring success and start making the sacrifices necessary to achieve it.” -Mark Batterson. Have a spectacular Thursday my friend.