Dear friends, good colleagues, and esteemed members of the board.
Thank you for making space in your email inboxes for another irresistible issue of The Chalk & Talk newsletter. Today, like all other days, I promise to give you the best I can give. All I ask for in return is your web traffic. Sound like a deal? Great.
Maybe a quick share with a friend who hasn’t read my incredible writing before? Yeah, that would mean a lot to me.
As you may have noticed, Chalk & Talk has turned from a twice-weekly publication into a once-weekly publication. I’ve gotta make more money in my day job guys, and that’s all I have to say about that. I want to have kids someday so I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do. Y’all aren’t paying my bills!
However, that means that I’ve gotta really pack a lot of goodness into each issue now. Let’s start with something so amazing you’ll have to see it to believe it.
I WAS AT DOMINGO GERMÁN’S PERFECT GAME IN OAKLAND ON WEDNESDAY
A great time was had by all. I am blown away that I showed up at the Coliseum on a random, cold Wednesday in the midst of a lost season and ended up seeing something that has only happened 23 other times in MLB’s 147-year history.
It is certainly a memory that I will hold with me forever. I am still in a state of shock. Unbelievable. Speechless. Wow.
Well, I don’t know how I transition away from that wild ass story but the other non-gambling thing I wanted to give a quick shoutout to today is this super cool game I have been playing recently: Immaculate Grid.
The game is pretty straightforward. There is a new puzzle every day, and in each square, you have to name a player that has played for both of those teams or done both of those accomplishments or done the accomplishment and played for that team. Today’s puzzle is pretty hard! I only got 6/9, my worst score since I started playing this game last week.
Do today’s puzzle and comment your score down below! ImmaculateGrid.com
Alright, enough of perfect games and immaculate grids. How about a perfect-looking profit chart?!
The numbers speak for themselves, folks. I’ve got nothing more to say about this, other than that I AM CLEARLY HIM.
Also, one thing that has helped out the heater recently is my newfound love for BetOpenly. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, will you find such amazing prices for your wagers. The juice is only 1%.
I hit a Yes-Run-First-Inning bet on the A’s/Yankees game yesterday at +120 on BetOpenly, while the best price I saw on other sites was +100. If you aren’t at least checking BetOpenly for prices (the bet you want isn’t always offered because it is a peer-to-peer betting platform), you are losing money.
Make an account right now and thank me later. And no, I did not get paid to write this. Though if anyone from BetOpenly is reading this right now, I would be happy to negotiate a sponsorship of some kind. I get over 100 views on every Chalk & Talk post nowadays! Your boy is big timing!
Ok, let’s talk wagers now.
Are you ready to be spoonfed winning bets?
Yeah, I thought so!!!
Today’s plays
0.75 unit - MLB 6/30 4:10pm - Giants ML @ Mets (-123)
(Cobb/Carrasco must start)
This is my top play of the day despite not even being a full unit! Not a great board today IMHO. However, the Mets are awful and they have an awful SP. Carrasco has been terrible and rarely gets out of the 4th inning of games. He is backed by a rotten bullpen with a 28 or 30 ranking last ten days in collective FIP. The Giants are on a roll and hitting about even with the Mets, but they have the #1 bullpen in MLB. Both SPs are shaky but the Giants' is less shaky and the bullpens should decide this one. It might sound funny, but I think the Giants win a close game in convincing fashion. Play good to -135, half unit down to -145.
0.75 unit - MLB 6/30 4:07pm - Red Sox @ Blue Jays ML (-136)
This is one of those where it is not an overwhelming advantage to one side, but every small detail points to the Jays. Firstly, the Sox are 4-0 in this season series but those were all in Boston. The Jays have one of the best home records in MLB. The Jays have a small SP advantage including history against, the bullpen advantage by a little, a huge lineup wOBA advantage, and are in better form. Take the Blue Jays down to -145 for 0.75u, half unit play down to -155.
0.75 unit - MLB 6/30 5:10pm - Dodgers -1.5 @ Royals (-140)
(Miller/Marsh must start)
The Royals are expected to call up Alec Marsh in what looks like a desperation move Friday. Marsh had a terrible 2022 in the minors and hasn’t faired much better this season. Jordan Lyles was supposed to make the start but is out with an illness, and the rest of the KC rotation is in shambles due to injuries. Marsh will now be asked to make his MLB debut against a Dodgers squad that just put up 27 runs in their series with the Rockies. Bobby Miller is off a couple of rough outings, but he has great stuff and takes a huge step down in class here. Take the Dodgers on the run line down to -150 for 0.75u, half unit down to -160.
0.75 unit - MLB 6/30 5:05pm - Astros @ Rangers ML (-152)
(Blanco/Gray must start)
As crazy as it sounds to say, Texas is quietly turning into a serious World Series contender. They rank #6 in bullpen FIP and #2 in lineup wOBA the last ten days and they have Jon Gray on the mound. Gray has an excellent history vs the Astros including a .571 OPS against. Blanco is totally unproven and is backed up by the 20th-ranked bullpen in MLB. I love Texas here. Play good to -160, half unit to -170.
Bonus soccer play for tomorrow!
0.5 unit - MLS 7/1 4:30pm - NYCFC @ CF Montreal 1H u1 (-101)
Montreal is quite impressive in 1H at home: W4 D4 L0, scoring 5 and conceding ZERO goals so far. Montreal’s home first halves have the LOWEST goal average in the MLS, with just 0.63 goals per first half. New York City is mediocre at best in 1H on the road: W1 D6 L3, scoring 3 and conceding 6 goals. New York City’s away first halves have the 4th LOWEST total in the MLS, with just 0.82 goals per first half. The 1H Totals line is set at 1, and I expected it to be at 0.75, so I will be playing the under at basically even money. There is a very good chance we push this, but who cares. I’d be very surprised if it loses.
Alright guys, that does it for me today.
Thanks as always for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day. I hope all of my bets cash for you guys and make sure to follow me on Twitter as I may be releasing some Yes-Run-First-Inning or No-Run-First-Inning plays from BetOpenly later on today. Also, some UFC plays are a serious possibility tomorrow!
Also, I will be at the A’s game tonight so sprinkle A’s ML for me. Should be free. They’re 5-1 when I’m there this year, and my only loss so far was a perfect game.
So what I’m telling you is that unless the other team throws a perfect game, the A’s can’t lose when I’m at the Coliseum. Cool shit.
Ok I gotta go, peace ✌️
8-Bit