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Morning Coffee: Acuna delivers historic performance to cap epic 24 hours
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Welcome to September!
The US Open is in full flight at Flushing Meadows, Week 1 of the college football season is underway, baseball’s best are battling in L.A., the territorial rivalries are set in the CFL, and the NFL season is right around the corner.
Pumpkin spice is a lock.
What are you parlaying it with this Labour Day weekend?
If you tailed the FanDuel Best Bet in Thursday’s Morning Coffee column, you have some spare change to work with as you look at the menu after we cashed our first play of the college football season with Nebraska +8.5.
The Huskers covered easily in a 13-10 loss to Utah.
I went right back to work this morning looking for another FanDuel Best Bet winner.
Baseball is back with an absolutely loaded Friday slate, and I’m looking to capitalize again with a best bet for tonight’s games.
This is the Morning Coffee for Friday Sept. 1, 2023.
Acuna delivers historic performance to cap epic 24 hours
The Los Angeles Dodgers went 24-5 in the month of August. It’s their most wins in a single month in 70 years.
The Dodgers are just the fifth team in the divisional era to win 24 or more games in a calendar month.
Ronald Acuna Jr. made sure they didn’t get to 25.
The NL MVP favourite hit a grand slam to propel Atlanta to an 8-7 win in Los Angeles in the final game of the month on Thursday night.
Acuna Jr. became the first player in MLB history to record 30 home runs and 60 steals in a single season.
Did you hear about what he was doing before the game?
It’s the most unique wedding celebration I’ve ever heard of.
“I’m not playing against Ronald Acuna.”
Mookie Betts was right when he told reporters that after the game, but he might have to at least match Acuna’s production if the Dodgers are going to beat the Braves in a playoff series.
Acuna and Betts are in a class of their own as the top two choices to win NL MVP at FanDuel. Acuna is the betting favourite at -145. Betts is the second choice at +100.
Meanwhile, Atlanta and Los Angeles are also in a class of their own when it comes to the World Series futures at FanDuel.
The Braves are the favourite to win it all at +260. The Dodgers are the second choice at +330.
The bad news is that we will have to wait a few more weeks to see these teams compete in the postseason.
The good news is that they are set to go head-to-head three more times this weekend.
September baseball doesn’t get any better than this.
A FanDuel Best Bet for Friday’s MLB slate
We cashed our first college football recommendation of the season with Nebraska +8.5 on Thursday.
This morning, we are looking to head into the long weekend with an MLB FanDuel Best Bet winner.
I’m taking the Texas Rangers on the money line at -152.
Texas has won four of Max Scherzer’s first five starts since they acquired the veteran pitcher at the trade deadline.
Scherzer is officially 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in a Rangers uniform. He went seven innings in a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on the road in his last start.
Now he gets to face off against those same Twins tonight at home.
Texas is locked into a battle with the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West.
Every win will be important as the Rangers look to beat out the Astros and Mariners for first place.
While Scherzer has been excellent for Texas, Joe Ryan has really struggled for Minnesota ahead of tonight’s start.
The Twins have lost each of Ryan’s past three starts. He allowed 12 earned runs over 12.2 innings of work over that stretch.
Ryan has produced a 5.04 ERA on the road versus a 3.77 ERA at home this season.
With Scherzer getting the start at Globe Life Field opposite Ryan tonight, I’ll take Texas on the money line at -152 odds as my FanDuel Best Bet for Friday’s MLB slate.