We’re back on the slab with the start of the week, and there’s not a lot of games available today as baseball enters the final week of the regular season. We’ll have a lot more plays once winter sports get going, but for now, we’ll take what we can get. Here are my best bets for September 27.
CRYSTAL PALACE-BRIGHTON DRAW, +210
This is the rare Monday matchup where I don’t like either side, but I really don’t want to go against Crystal Palace here. The Eagles haven’t yet allowed a goal at Selhurst Park, and the Seagulls have failed to win in four straight against Palace over the past two seasons, taking a draw in each of their past two visits to Palace. Brighton is off to a strong start to the year, but the Seagulls have also played a forgiving schedule, so even though they’re flying high, I think Palace gets a point here.
COWBOYS, -175
Dallas has won four of the past five meetings with Philadelphia in Texas, and the public is also giving the Eagles far too much love for me to be comfortable. The line has dropped from +6 at the opening to +3 because of money coming in on Philadelphia, and whenever everyone thinks one way, it’s usually best to go in the other direction. Dallas has played two good teams so far in Tampa Bay and the Chargers, and they have a good chance to get to 2-1 here.
MARINERS, -115
Seattle has won nine straight games against Oakland, and the Mariners have Chris Flexen on the mound to try to gain some ground on the rest of the wild card teams. Both teams absolutely have to have this game to stay in the race, and I think the Mariners are in better shape to take advantage of this matchup. The Athletics have figured out most of the AL West, but they have shown no signs of getting the job done against Seattle, and I doubt that’s going to happen here.
ROCKIES, -165
Colorado is a much better team at home than anywhere else, and the Rockies should show it here against a Nationals team that’s shown no inclination to try to at least finish ahead of Miami in the NL East. Washington has completely given up on the season, and while Colorado has lost five of its past six, that happened against San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Dodgers and Giants need every win they can get; the Nationals have been done since July.
