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All rise for the American League MVP.

Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season last night, tying Roger Maris’ American League record set in 1961.

After going seven straight games without a homer, Judge delivered a two-run home run to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning of an 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the record-tying home run was the hardest-hit home run of the season at 117.4 miles per hour.

If you read this column on Wednesday morning, then you know that Judge was +255 to hit a home run at FanDuel.

Judge to hit a home run and the Yankees to win was +363.

After tying Maris’ record in Toronto, Judge and company head back to New York for a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles that begins on Friday night.

Yankees Stadium will be absolutely rocking as Judge looks to break the all-time record in front of the home fans in the Bronx in their final home series before the playoffs begin. 

Here’s your Morning Coffee for Thursday, September 29th, 2022.

All Rise For The American League MVP

The Yankees have seven games left on their regular season schedule.

The next three are at home against the Orioles.

That’s important because Judge has already hit nine home runs against Baltimore this season, which is the most by any one player against any one team. 

Judge also has 35 career home runs against the Orioles, which is the most by any player against one team since Judge’s first full season for New York back in 2017.

Right now at FanDuel, Judge is -20000 to win AL MVP.

In addition to potentially setting a new AL single-season record for home runs, Judge could become the first player to win the batting Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012. 

Judge leads the AL with 61 home runs, 130 RBI and a .313 batting average. 

The only Yankees players to ever win the Triple Crown are Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle.  

 New York has already clinched first place in the AL East, but as long as Judge is in the lineup, Yankees’ games will be must-watch television. 

Also, shout out to the fan who dropped the record-tying home run ball in Toronto last night.

I can only imagine the roller-coaster of emotions that he’s still dealing with this morning.

FanDuel Best Bet For Thursday Night Football

The Miami Dolphins are one of only two teams to start the season 3-0 both straight up and against the spread.

They’ll put that perfect record on the line tonight when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals to kick off Week 4 in the NFL on Thursday Night Football.

The forecast is calling for a beautiful night in Ohio.

While the weather is expected to be beautiful, the level of football might not be with a lot of concerns for both teams heading into tonight’s game.

The Bengals are currently a 3.5-point favourite at FanDuel.

If that number holds, it will mark the first time since 2018 that a team with a 3-0 record or better will be a 3.5-point underdog against a team with a losing record.

 The New England Patriots beat the 3-0 Dolphins 38-7 as a 6.5-point favourite that season.

While my early lean was towards Miami +3.5, this is a tough spot for a team coming off an emotional win on a short week with some key injuries at quarterback and wide receiver.

Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle are both expected to play tonight, but neither one of them will be at full strength, and the defence will have its hands full just four days after being on the field for 90 plays in Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills.

At the same time, Cincinnati’s offensive line has some major concerns that showed up in ugly losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys.

The Bengals defence hasn’t looked terrible, but how much stock can we put into their performances against Mitch Trubisky, Cooper Rush and Joe Flacco?

Tagovailoa is 6-3 outright and 7-1-1 ATS in his last three games when getting at least 3.5 points, and if it wasn’t for the injury and travel circumstances, I would jump at the opportunity to get more than a field goal with Miami.

Instead, I’m going to pivot and look at a player prop for my FanDuel Best Bet.  

On Sunday, I had Tyler Boyd to go over 39.5 receiving yards in a must-win game against the New York Jets.

He finished with four receptions for 105 yards on five targets.

For tonight’s game, I’ll go back to the same player prop and take Boyd to finish with 40+ receiving yards.

Cincinnati’s rushing attack stalled again in Sunday’s win over the Jets as Joe Mixon finished with just 24 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Joe Burrow picked up the slack with 275 yards and three touchdowns, with Boyd and Tee Higgins combining for nine catches, 198 yards and a score.

The Miami defence is 28th in EPA allowed per quarterback dropback this season.

Their top cornerback Xavien Howard is dealing with a groin injury and their No. 2 cornerback Byron Jones is out with an ankle injury.

 That means Boyd could be matched up against an undrafted rookie free agent tonight in Kader Kohou, giving him an excellent opportunity to build on last week’s performance.

Remember, the veteran receiver will only need 40 receiving yards for this prop to cash.

I’ll make Boyd 40+ receiving yards my FanDuel Best Bet for Thursday Night Football.