5 Bets to Make This Week
In this week’s 5 Bets, our writer looks at MLB, Jake Paul, Formula 1, the Canadian Football League, and the PGA Tour.
The two best American League teams face off in the first games of the second-half of the season. A split is obvious but bet it in order.
Jake Paul wants to fight, so even though Tommy Fury is ducking him, he replaced him with another opponent for the early August fight at Madison Square Garden.
The Formula 1 circuit rolls into France, so why not bet on a legend to record his first 2022 win?
The class of the Canadian Football League, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers should easily cover on the road at Edmonton.
The hangover from the amazing finish at the Open Championship is still buzzing so the 3M Open in the wilds of Minnesota might be ignored—but not by golf bettors.
5 Bets to Make this Week
- Houston Astros -126 to win against NY Yankees
- Hasim Rahman Jr. over Jake Paul
- Lewis Hamilton to win French Grand Prix at 10-1
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers to cover -114
- Bet 3 Up and Comers for Top 10 at 3M Open starting at +255
Yankees, Astros Battle for Top in AL
Now that the All Star Game is over, we can get down to the serious business of winning the pennant. In the American League, there are two teams that are head-and-shoulders above the others.
The New York Yankees are on an historic pace, finishing the first half with a 64-29 record, leading the second-place Tampa Bay Rays by 13.5 games, and in a division where all five teams are above .500. Aaron Judge is having an amazing season with 33 home runs,
In the AL West, the Houston Astros aren’t quite as good, but a 59-32 record is nothing to sneeze at. The Astros are up by nine games over the red-hot Seattle Mariners, who have won 10 straight.
Appropriately, the two teams go head to head in the first meeting of the second half of the season. And to make things even more interesting, it’s a doubleheader! The Yankees are sending their two top pitchers against the Astros, but it’s hard to believe that the Astros will lose both games, just because it’s become such a heated rivalry
In game 1, it’s Houston’s Cristian Javier versus the Yanks’ Jameson Taillon, who hit double digits in wins last weekend by beating the Boston Red Sox. Javier’s 6-5 record doesn’t hold up to Taillon’s 10 wins, but his ERA is better by more than half a run. Not to mention Javier no-hit the Yanks in New York on June 24. So let’s go with the Astros, even as the favorite at -126. But that’s not the point.
Game 2 is a bit different and more dramatic. The pitching matchup is former Astro Gerrit Cole going for the Yankees and Luis Garcia for the ‘Stros. After losing Game 1, no way the Yankees lose the second game. So if you can find the play (and it’s not easy) parlay the Yanks losing Game 1 and winning Game 2, especially with Cole pitching. Otherwise win two straight up bets.
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Jake Paul Takes a Chance
Jake Paul, the YouTube star-turned-boxer, had a fight set with Tommy Fury, the half-brother of British heavyweight champ Tyson Fury. But when Fury was denied entry into the U.S., Paul did what was necessary to save the August 6 card at New York’s Madison Square Garden—he brought in a new opponent. And that fighter could bring serious problems for Paul because he’s bigger, faster and more successful.
Hasim Rahman Jr. is the son of the former heavyweight champion of the same name. He’s got a 12-1 record, the only blemish being a fifth-round knockout by James McKenzie Morrison, the son of former heavyweight contender Tommy Morrison.
Paul has a 5-0 record, but that has been built on opponents who are either other social media stars or mixed martial arts fighters giving boxing a shot. Against Rahman, Paul will have his hands full with a boxer who actually knows his trade. Bet Rahman at +178.
CFL’s Winnipeg Continues to Shine
Jonesing for some football now that the USFL season is over? Look north to Canada. That quirky version of the game they play is exciting, fast and high scoring. Defending CFL Grey Cup champions Winnipeg Blue Bombers are showing why they’re the class of the league. The undefeated Blue Bombers just came off back-to-back games vs. really good teams, handing the BC Lions and the Calgary Stampeders their first losses of the season.
This week’s game against the Edmonton Elks should be an easy win. The money line reflects that by making Winnipeg the heavy favorite at -355. So the spread is the way to go. You get the Blue Bombers at -7.5 points for a reasonable -114.
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Hamilton Returns to Winner’s Circle
The French Grand Prix is one of the signature stops on the Formula 1 circuit. This year, it’s being run at Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet, Var. But the Formula 1 tour is dominated by a couple of drivers and their teams. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is the favorite at +120 to defend his 2021 title and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who has won multiple times on the circuit, is +150.
The drop-off from those two leaders is pretty dramatic, but Englishman Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time Formula 1 world champion, has been improving every race. While he hasn’t won yet this year, he does have four consecutive races where he finished in the Top 4. How can you ignore that kind of production, particularly when you’re getting him at +1000?
Three PGA Tour Longshots Worth a Look
No more majors! Pure golf fans still can’t get over that the Open Championship is the final major of the year. They ache for the PGA Championship to move back to August, but that’s not going to happen.
The golf gods now want fans to concentrate on the playoffs for the FedEx Cup, but it’s just not that exciting. And speaking of not exciting, the 3M Open in Minnesota is almost devoid of golf’s biggest stars, most of whom are taking at least one week off following that other Open in Scotland.
The biggest name at TPC Twin Cities is Tony Finau, who comes in as the favorite at +1400, followed by Im Sung-jae at +1600 and Hideki Matsuyama at +1800. That’s it for the names a casual golf fan might recognize. So playing to win isn’t really an option here with so many unknowns.
But how about playing Top 10 for three up-and-comers? Joohyung Kim finished T47 at last week’s Open. The 20-year-old has wowed on every tour he’s played. Bet him at +340. Sahith Theegala was in contention late in the weekend last week and two Top 5’s and four Top 25s in his last eight tournaments. He’s +255. And finally Chez Reavie got his first win earlier this year, and was in contention at last year’s 3M. Bet him for the Top 10 at +400.
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