We’re now into the final week of baseball season, and we’ve got hockey and basketball starting soon. We’re only one month short of the sports celebration that will be November, but October’s still a pretty good time on the calendar. I haven’t done much of any baseball betting this year, but with the last games on the docket, now’s the time for far less randomness and a bit better of a play to make.
However, soccer and football will still dominate these plays. Here are my best bets for October 3.
LEICESTER CITY ML, -140
At some point, the Foxes have to turn this around. Leicester has been poor throughout this Premier League campaign, but Nottingham Forest has really looked bad over its past four matches. Forest has dropped four straight with a -10 goal differential, and Leicester has at least scored in six of seven matches. This has to be the time for the Foxes.
CASA PIA ML, +140
It’s hard to overstate just how poor Maritimo has been this campaign. The side from Madeira has just four goals in seven matches and has conceded 22 while losing all seven times out. Newly promoted Casa Pia has looked good in the Portuguese Liga, with its only loss coming at perennial power Benfica. Casa Pia holds good value here.
RAYS ML, -140
I thought the Orioles would be the happiest team to get rid of the unbalanced schedule in 2022, but it turns out that it’s Boston. The Red Sox have gotten slugged all year by the AL East, going 23-50 against the Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles. Ten of those wins came over Baltimore, so Boston’s a mere 13-41 against AL East teams who are going to the playoffs. Tampa Bay has a playoff position to play for and would likely rather take its chances against Toronto instead of having to beat Cleveland in a short series on the road, so they should get a win here.
PHILLIES ML, +110
The Astros have already secured the AL’s top seed and want to get their pitching properly set up. The Phillies need only one win to lock down the final spot in the NL playoffs. After that, the Phillies and Padres might well get themselves into a tank-off to try to play the Cardinals instead of the Mets, but Philadelphia needs to get in first before it can worry about its seed.
RAMS ML, +105
The Rams and the 49ers have both had their problems, but the Rams looked a little better on offense in Week 3. San Francisco looked stuck in the mud against Denver, and Los Angeles should be able to build off how well it played early against the Cardinals. The Rams have work to do, but the 49ers have more.
