Host Jonathan Coachman is joined by sports betting experts Mike McClure and John Bollman on The Early Edge podcast. They give you their best bets for MLB and NFL Preseason for Thursday, August 25.
Mike offers up his MLB weather report, which indicates about a 15 percent boost in offense for the games throughout the Northeast on Thursday. John then breaks down MLB futures before Coach provides the SportsLine Play of the Day.
The site's top play is an NFL Preseason pick from Packers vs. Chiefs (8 p.m. ET). SportsLine is backing Over 36 (-110), as the scoring has ramped up with the preseason coming to a close. Both teams are averaging at least 19 points during the preseason.
Mike then steps in with his MLB pick, and it is St. Louis Team Total Over 4.5 (-110) in the Cardinals vs. Cubs matchup (2:20 p.m. ET). Mike talked about the weather boosts around the league to kick off the show, and this game is showing a 25 percent uptick in home runs and run scoring because of the low air density. Cubs starter Marcus Stroman has significantly worse numbers at home, and Paul Goldschmidt should return for St. Louis. The MVP candidate took Wednesday night off, and he could have a huge game in Chicago.
Bollman also has an MLB play, and he is backing Baltimore +100 in the White Sox vs. Orioles game (7:05 p.m. ET). Jordan Lyles is scheduled to be on the mound for Baltimore, and he is 4-2 with a 3.13 ERA at home, while Chicago's Lance Lynn is 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA on the road. The Orioles also have a much better bullpen -- and their relievers are much more rested.
Then it's time for Cash With the Coach, and the host says he is "done betting baseball" (though we'll see about that), so he has three plays from the PGA Tour. The Tour Championship tees off Thursday at East Lake in Atlanta, and Coach has some first-round matchup plays to go with the full-tournament picks he offered up earlier in the week.
Coachman is backing Rory McIlroy -140 over Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm -125 over Sungjae Im and Xander Schauffele -140 over Sam Burns. Coach isn't sure what to expect from Smith, who pulled out last week with an injury and could need to knock off some rust. Rory has an excellent track record at East Lake, so Coach expects him to start strong.
The host also loves what he saw from Rahm to wrap up the BMW. "He finished last weekend in tremendous, tremendous form," Coach says. He adds that Rahm might even end up as a solid live underdog to come all the way back from seven strokes down and win the FedEx Cup title.
Allan Bell wraps things up with the AB3, and they're all MLB Team Totals. He is taking Cleveland Over 3.5 (-135) in Guardians vs. Mariners (4:10 p.m. ET), The Mets Over 4 (-150) against the Rockies (7:10 p.m. ET) and the Reds Over 2.5 (-150) in their matchup with the Phillies (7:05 p.m. ET).
Early Edge is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enable push notifications so you always know when the latest episode is available! Every episode is also available on YouTube. Follow @SportsLine on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow our crew on Twitter: @TheCoachrules, @Mike5754, @JohnBollman11 and @allanbell247. You can listen to The Early Edge on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Early Edge podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of The Early Edge podcast." For more betting picks and analysis, visit SportsLine.com. To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit CBSSports.com/podcasts.
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