We’ve almost made it to college football, but before we get there, there’s one more set of Friday bets to navigate. We ended up with a subpar 2-3 Wild Card Wednesday, although I do claim an asterisk on that one because the Pirates didn’t end up starting Mitch Keller on Wednesday because of rain. Keller promptly got whacked for seven runs by St. Louis on Thursday, so my call to take the over based on him starting was the right move (especially when Pittsburgh came back to win 11-7); it just ended up a day late. As such, I’m calling Wednesday a 2-2-1 wash.
Hopefully, Friday gives us a more comfortable and obvious win. Here are my picks for August 27.
BREWERS ML, -135
Milwaukee is heading to the postseason in a month. Minnesota will be lucky to avoid 90 losses when all is said and done. And who are the Twins sending to the mound? A 35-year-old named Andrew Albers who has spent most of the past four years in Triple-A and posted a 3.86 ERA with Triple-A Saint Paul. The Brewers might be light-hitting, but they do enough to get the job done, and they should be able to jump on Albers.
VIKINGS-CHIEFS UNDER 38.5, -110
Kansas City gets a lot of love for its offense, but its defense has been playing very well in the preseason. The under has cashed twice in the Chiefs’ preseason games, as they controlled the game against both San Francisco and Arizona. Minnesota’s offense isn’t anywhere near as solid as the Cardinals’ attack, and Arizona got just 10 points on Kansas City when the total got up to 41 points. Plus, the Vikings have only scored 16 points all preseason and are 0-9 ATS in their past nine preseason games. A low score looks likely again.
COLTS -2, -110
Both teams have said they’re going to limit the play from their starters, but the Colts have no choice but to play a potential starter under center in this one. With Carson Wentz still a question mark for Sept. 12, Indianapolis has to figure out if Plan B will be Jacob Eason or Sam Ehlinger. Both have shown flashes of promise this preseason, and both will be battling to win at least the No. 2 job. The Lions are set at quarterback with Jared Goff and will just be trying to get out of this game in one piece. That bodes well for an Indianapolis cover.
COLUMBUS CREW WIN TO NIL, +200
With two goals in six matches, FC Cincinnati have been just awful as of late. With six straight losses, Columbus hasn’t been any better. But I think the Crew can turn things around against Cincinnati, in large part because they should have broken the streak last time out against Seattle. They had the Sounders dead to rights a week ago, then watched as Seattle pulled two goals out of nowhere in three minutes to turn a 1-0 win into a 2-1 defeat. Cincinnati doesn’t possess that kind of firepower and has been blanked by Columbus in each of their past two meetings away from Cincinnati. The Crew should be able to handle this one.
ORLANDO CITY TO WIN AND BTTS, +230
Yes, I’m returning to the well that is the Florida Derby and hoping that this time, the Lions can find the second goal. Well, technically, I’m hoping that the Lions find the second goal and it doesn’t get called back, because Orlando did put two past Miami last time, but one was ruled out for offside. There have now been five matches between the Lions and the Herons, and BTTS has hit in all five, with three of them finishing 2-1 to one or the other. BTTS is the safest bet on the board at -145, and if you want to get risky, three goals exactly brings a +300 cash.
