Week 1 of the NFL season is officially in the books, so you’ll have to wait until Thursday’s game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to bet on football again. Fortunately, the sports calendar is jam-packed these days, so you still have plenty of options to pass the time between now and Thursday night.
Tuesday brings us a pair of highly-anticipated NBA games. We’ve got Game 7 of the second-round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets, as well as Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals pitting the Miami Heat against the Boston Celtics. We also have a full 15-game Major League Baseball slate on tap, as well as Game 5 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
BetOnline has a full list of boosted odds in anticipation of Tuesday’s action across a few different sports. As always, we’ll work to try and dig up the best value of the bunch.
MLB: Yankees and Mets BOTH To Win (+225)
The Yankees will open a midweek series at home against the Blue Jays with legitimate playoff implications. The Yanks are actually a game behind the Jays in the AL East standings, so this is a huge game for both sides. New York will throw youngster Deivi Garcia to the mound against Toronto right-hander Taijuan Walker.
Garcia is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, and he has looked the part through three big-league outings. Just last week, Garcia held these very Blue Jays to a couple of runs on five hits over seven solid innings of work. New York is a -153 moneyline favorite to win this game, per BetOnline’s odds.
Rick Porcello vs. Jake Arrieta tonight in a rematch of former Cy Young award winners.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) September 15, 2020
As for the other New York team, the Mets will be traveling to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Phillies. Rick Porcello will climb the mound for New York, while the Phils will counter with another former Cy Young winner in Jake Arrieta. Both pitchers are past their respective primes at this point, but Porcello will have the advantage of facing a watered-down version of the Phillies. Philadelphia will be without both Rhys Hoskins and JT Realmuto, which leaves the middle of the lineup looking pretty thin around Bryce Harper.
The Mets can throw six left-handed bats at Arrieta, who has really struggled against lefties over the past several years. The Mets are -125 road favorites.
MLB: A’s, Dodgers, Angels ALL To Win (+475)
The Athletics will send Sean Manaea to the mound on Tuesday in Denver, while the Rockies will counter with Antonio Senzatela. These are a couple of low-strikeout, pitch-to-contact type pitchers, but Oakland has been one of the best teams in the American League this season. The Rockies, meanwhile, are fighting for a playoff spot in the NL. Manaea is coming off of back-to-back excellent starts, so the A’s are justifiable -154 moneyline favorites on the road.
The Dodgers fell at the hands of the Padres last night in San Diego, and there is now just a 1.5-game gap between the teams in the standings. San Diego will look to close the gap further with Zach Davies on the mound tonight, while Los Angeles will start right-hander Tony Gonsolin.
Davies has been srellar his season, but his xFIP is nearly two full runs higher than his ERA. His underlying numbers suggest some regression is on order, while Gonsolin has pitched very well in his own right. Vegas is still backing the Dodgers as -126 favorites away from home.
The Angels will take on Madison Bumgarner at home. While I don’t have much faith in Julio Teheran stifling the Diamondbacks, Bumgarner has quietly been one of the worst pitchers in baseball this season. The Halos’ lineup, featuring no shortage of right-handed power between Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols, and Justin Upton, is essentially built to mash left-handed pitching. BetOnline isn’t buying what MadBum is selling at this stage of his career, which is why the Angels are pretty hefty -144 favorites at home.
NBA: Clippers to Win and Over 207.5 Points (+300)
The Clippers seemed home-free after taking a 3-1 lead in the series, but the Nuggets have stormed back to even things up. Denver is now 5-0 when facing elimination in these playoffs after overcoming another 3-1 deficit in the last round against Utah. The Clippers have been 8.5-point favorites in each of the last two games, but tonight oddsmakers have shaved their advantage to 7.5.
TWO WORDS: GAME 7.
Will the @nuggets or @LAClippers win and advance to the Western Conference Finals??
9:00 PM ET on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/C9JBugHzQL
— NBA (@NBA) September 15, 2020
The Clips are still massive -305 moneyline favorites to win Game 7. The Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly been on a collision course all year long, and I still have faith that we’ll get that Western Conference Finals matchup. The Nuggets have been zombie-like in their ability to avoid elimination, but at some point, you have to expect talent to win out. LAC has a clear advantage in that regard. While the Clippers have plenty of issues, they should be able to get the job done if they come out focused.
The over/under for this game is the sticking point. It’s listed at 207.5. So far in this series, the teams have combined to score 217, 211, 220, 181, 216, and 209 points.
What’s The Best Bet?
While the Yankees and Mets are in good spots tonight, it’s not so clear-cut that I’m fully confident both will be able to get the job done. The Yankees’ lineup in particular is weakened with so many quality hitters on the injured list, so given the middling value at +225 I’ll pass on the first MLB boost.
I’m always wary of banking on a three-way result, but A’s/Dodgers/Angels all to win paying out at +475 is hard to ignore. You won’t get a ton of value on any of the teams to win individually, but combining all three at +475 is very appealing. The Angels and A’s in particular look like very good bets to win, while I’d imagine the Dodgers will have a little extra motivation after Trent Grisham’s exploits in Monday’s game.
The over on 207.5 has hit in five of the six games between the Nuggets and Clippers thus far, but Game 7s are generally lower-scoring affairs. The Clippers are obviously a good bet to get the job done and advance, and 207.5 is still an attackable number in a vacuum. At +300, I don’t mind a flier on the NBA boost tonight.
My first choice would be A’s/Dodgers/Angels at +475, but the NBA boost is a close second on Tuesday night.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
