Mike Lundin

NFLX 3-PACK

The reigning Super Bowl champions New England Patriots limited Detroit to 93 yards of total offense in their 31-3 Week 1 victory. Star quarterback Tom Brady was kept on the sidelines for the whole contest but should see some action in this one.  

Coach Bill Belichick will most likely want to emphasize on the defense here on the road against a Tennesee Titans side that racked up 388 yards of offense in last week's 27-10 win over Philadelphia. Titans' starting QB Marcus Mariota hit just 50 percent of his eight passes for 24 yards, and even if he sees more action here he's likely to struggle against this Pats defense. 

Additionally to the under, I also like the Pats to come through with a win as they seek revenge for last season's Week 10 loss to the Titans. Yes, this is just a preseason game which shouldn't mean much, but revenge is revenge ... 

8* play on UNDER. 

NFLX 3-PACK

The reigning Super Bowl champions New England Patriots limited Detroit to 93 yards of total offense in their 31-3 Week 1 victory. Star quarterback Tom Brady was kept on the sidelines for the whole contest but should see some action in this one.  

Coach Bill Belichick will most likely want to emphasize on the defense here on the road against a Tennesee Titans side that racked up 388 yards of offense in last week's 27-10 win over Philadelphia. Titans' starting QB Marcus Mariota hit just 50 percent of his eight passes for 24 yards, and even if he sees more action here he's likely to struggle against this Pats defense. 

Additionally to the under, I also like the Pats to come through with a win as they seek revenge for last season's Week 10 loss to the Titans. Yes, this is just a preseason game which shouldn't mean much, but revenge is revenge ... 

8* play on New England Patriots. 

SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

The New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals combined for just five runs in Game of this series Friday night. I expect to see a low-scoring pitchers duel here in the second game on Saturday. 

Mets' righty Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.68 ERA) is having a spectacular year and has held seven straight opponents to fewer than three earned runs. As for Royals' righty Jakob Junis (8-10, 4.80 ERA), he has allowed only three runs over 12 innings of work in his last two starts combined and under is 5-2 in Junis' last 7 starts overall. We can also note that this will be Junis' first career start against the Mets while deGrom has not faced KC since the 2015 World Series, with unfamiliarity usually favoring the pitcher.  

Under is 12-3-1 in Mets last 16 interleague games vs. a team with a losing record. Under is 13-3 in Royals last 16 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter.

Additionally, we can note that the Mets are 6-3 against the runline as a favorite of -200 or more this season, covering four straight. 

8* play on NY Mets -1.5. 

SATURDAY NIGHT METS @ ROYALS TOTAL

The New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals combined for just five runs in Game of this series Friday night. I expect to see a low-scoring pitchers duel here in the second game on Saturday. 

Mets' righty Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.68 ERA) is having a spectacular year and has held seven straight opponents to fewer than three earned runs. As for Royals' righty Jakob Junis (8-10, 4.80 ERA), he has allowed only three runs over 12 innings of work in his last two starts combined and under is 5-2 in Junis' last 7 starts overall. We can also note that this will be Junis' first career start against the Mets while deGrom has not faced KC since the 2015 World Series, with unfamiliarity usually favoring the pitcher.  

Under is 12-3-1 in Mets last 16 interleague games vs. a team with a losing record. Under is 13-3 in Royals last 16 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter.

8* play on UNDER. 

CHIEFS VS STEELERS BOOKIE BREAKER

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-28 in Week 1 of the 2019 preseason, and coach Mike Tomlin has already said more of the starters will be used in Week 2.

They're 7-2 in their last nine preseason games and look good to pick up another win here. Note that this will be the Steelers last game home at Heinz Field before the regular season kicks off, so I'm sure they'll be up for this one. 

As for the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, they opened the 2019 preseason with a dominant 38-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Starting QB Patrick Mahomes went 4-for-4 for 66 yards but is unlikely to see any action in this contest as head coach Andy Reid will want to see more from backups Chase Litton and rookie Kyle Shurmur.

Look for a fired-up Steelers side to get the W in front of the home town crowd. 

8* play on Pittsburgh Steelers. 

GAME OF THE WEEK (SOCCER): MIKE'S BEST BUNDESLIGA BET

Borussia Monchengladbach finished last season 5th in the Bundesliga, just missing out on the final ticket to the Champions League. Schalke 04 meanwhile finished 14th, dangerously close to the relegation zone. 

I expect Monchengladbach to win the opener of the 2019/2020 season rather comfortably in front of their fanatic fans home at Borussia-Park. Note that Monchengladbach lost just five home games last season, and four of those losses came against sides from inside the top ten.

Additionally, Monchengladbach won both meetings last season and have a new, interesting manager in Marco Rose who has had plenty of success with Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league. 

10* play on Borussia Monchengladbach. 

GAME OF THE WEEK (MLB): MIKE'S SUPER EARLY TOP RATED TOTAL

The Pittsburgh Pirates put a bad beat on their opponent Friday night as they scored twice in the ninth inning to earn a 3-2 win. Runs came at a premium for both teams in that contest, but I expect to see more fireworks today. 

Cubs' left-hander Jon Lester (9-8, 4.43 ERA) has been torched for 16 runs on 24 hits through 14 innings of work over his last three starts. Over is 21-6 in Lesters last 27 starts during game 2 of a series and 11-3-1 in his last 15 starts with 5 days of rest. As for Pirates' starter Steven Brault (3-1, 4.33 ERA), the left-hander was reached for four runs in 4 2/3 innings of an 11-9 Pirates loss at St. Louis last time out. 

Over is 20-7-1 in Pirates' last 28 games vs. a left-handed starter. Over is 6-1 in Lester's last 7 road starts vs. Pirates.

10* play on OVER. 

BREWERS @ NATIONALS TOTAL

I think there are plenty of reasons to believe that Sunday's matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Washington Nationals will be of the high-scoring variety. 

The Brew Crew hand the ball to Chase Anderson (5-2, 3.78 ERA) who has posted a 9.00 ERA in two career games against the Nats who counter with Erick Fedde (3-2, 4.09 ERA). The 26-year-old Fedde has made just one relief appearance against Milwaukee, and while he's been sharp in his last two starts, note his 5.59 ERA home at Nationals Park. Over is 6-2 in Feddes last 8 home starts and 6-0 in his last 6 Sunday starts

Additionally, keep in mind that the bullpens will be exhausted after Saturday's 14-inning affair. 

8* play on OVER. 

TOP RATED 10* INDIANS @ YANKEES TOTAL

The teams have combined for more than 13 runs per game over the first three contests of this series. I expect another high-scoring affair here in the series finale Sunday afternoon. 

Cleveland righty Mike Clevinger (7-2, 3.34 ERA) owns a 5.65 ERA in three games (two starts) versus the Yankees, and while the Bronx Bombers' CC Sabathia (5-6, 4.78 ERA) has posted a 3.78 ERA in 14 career starts against the Indians, note that he was reached for four runs in five innings when he faced them back in June. 

Over is 6-0 in Clevinger's last 6 starts overall. Over is 5-1 in Yankees last 6 home games vs. a right-handed starter. Over is 9-1 in Sabathia's last 10 starts overall and 7-1 in Yankees last 8 home games.

10* play on OVER. 

SUNDAY PREMIER LEAGUE PUNISHER

Chelsea took a 4-0 beating by Man United last weekend but looked solid in their 2-2 draw vs. Liverpool in the Europa Super Cup midweek (lost on penalties).

They have a deep enough squad for fatigue not to be an issue this early in the season. Chelsea are unbeaten in nine league games home at Stanford Bridge (W6,D3) and I think they'll crush Leicester here in their first home game on the season. 

Leicester opened the season with an uninspired 0-0 draw at home against Wolves. They had plenty of possession but failed to create many clear cut goalscoring opportunities. That won't cut it here against a Chelsea side looking to get its first win under club icon Frank Lampard. 

8* play on Leicester.