MLB Predictions – Dodgers Take On Marlins

MLB Predictions  Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins  Over/Under: 7  Odds: Dodgers –280, Marlins +230  Time: 12:05 PM ET  MLB Predictions The Los Angeles Dodgers will be taking on the Miami Marlins this Sunday. The Dodgers are roughly 20 games in front of the second place San Deigo Padres in the National League West division. At some point, you have to imagine that the Dodgers will be resting their starters soon. However, this game isn’t going to be the time that happens.   The Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that they are going to talk with each player when it reaches September to see if they can cut back their workloads down the stretch of the season. For this particular game, that won’t be happening. That’s why we will be seeing Julio Urias on the mound here. Urias has compiled a 13-7 overall record with a wonderful 2.36 ERA to go along with it. Urias has done a fantastic time of putting together excellent outings. He’s recorded a quality start in 14 out of his 24 total outings this season with the Dodgers. Although, it’s worth noting that he’s played the Marlins twice this year. He’s 1-1 against them with a horrendous 6.75 ERA.  Meanwhile, the Marlins are starting Edward Cabrera. Cabrera has yet to go up against Los Angeles but has been improving as the year progresses. In 2021, he was 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA. Now, he is 4-1 on the year with a stellar 1.41 ERA. Throughout the month of August so far, he’s pitched 22 innings and has yet to allow a single run during that stretch of time. The rising star could be a ridiculously big factor in the outcome of this game as he’s been as impressive as ever.   The last few games these two teams have played against each other have been very close. On Friday, the Marlins took the Dodgers into extra innings before losing at the last second. Then, the following day, the Marlins beat them 2-1 in another wildly close contest. There’s no question that we are going to be seeing the best of each of these teams here on Sunday.   MLB Picks Today If we are looking at the overall winner to bet on for this game, I have to say that I’m leaning with the Marlins. They are wild underdogs in this matchup due to having significantly less talent on the roster compared to the Dodgers. However, Cabrera hasn’t allowed a single run this month and is 4-1 with one of the best ERAs that the league has seen this year. Urias has been great in his own regard, but the problem lies with his time against Miami in particular. He’s posted a 6.75 ERA in those two games and has only been 1-1. The underdogs have tremendous value in this matchup.  When it comes to the over/under of seven, the under is very likely. These squads combined for just three runs in their last game on Saturday. With Cabrera and Urias being two strong pitchers, neither side will have a lot of opportunities to rack up runs. Even with Urias struggling against the Marlins, Cabrera’s dominance could keep it well below seven.   If you’re looking for more content, click here!

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Frenkie De Jong now ready to stay at Barcelona

Manchester United is set to miss out on signing Frenkie De Jong as the midfielder is now prepared to reduce his salary to stay at Barcelona. The Red Devils have pursued a deal for the Dutchman for much of this transfer window and Barca wanted to sell him. Both clubs reached an agreement for him to move to Old Trafford, but the former Ajax star rejected United and wanted to clarify his future at Barca amidst reports of being owed salaries. United has since moved on to sign Casemiro, but they maintained an interest in him as Erik Ten Hag longs for a reunion. However, it seems he would now remain at Barca after agreeing to accept a pay cut from the club to stay in Catalonya, according to Matchplug. He would now look to help Xavi Hernandez side to win La Liga this season, but they have not made the best start and there is a lot of competition for the trophy.

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Juventus to complete Paredes transfer today

Juventus is set to complete the transfer of Leandro Paredes today from PSG after a long summer pursuit. They have identified the midfielder as their key target for the regista spot on their team and have been working hard to add him to the group. However, they needed to offload one of their midfielders before he can join them and struck an agreement with Manchester United to sell Adrien Rabiot. But the Frenchman could not agree a deal on personal terms with the Red Devils and the transfer collapsed. United has since moved on even though they offered them Weston McKennie. Arthur Melo is another player they want to sell, but the Brazilian does not have many suitors because he is too injury prone. Juventus is pushing on with their bid to sign Paredes, and Matchplug understands that he would join them on loan with an option to buy for 15m euros.

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West Ham close in on Paqueta transfer

West Ham is close to signing Lyon midfielder, Lucas Paqueta after reaching an agreement on personal terms with the Brazilian midfielder. Paqueta is a long-term target of Arsenal and the Gunners were tipped to move for him in this transfer window. However, they have not pushed on with their interest and West Ham is now close to adding him to their squad. Paqueta impressed when he faced them in the Europa League last season and David Moyes now wants to add him to his squad. Matchplug understands that they have agreed on personal terms with him, but they must meet Lyon’s asking price for the former AC Milan man. They have submitted a second bid worth £42million for his signature, but Lyon wants £50million. West Ham is not expected to give up on the chase yet. The Hammers will likely improve their offer and the midfielder’s agent is now in London to help complete the transfer.

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Juventus signs Milik

Juventus has completed the signing of Polish striker, Arek Milik, on loan from Olympique Marseille. The striker has been on their radar since he was on the books of Napoli and they have been keen to add him to their squad. The Old Lady wanted to sign a new forward in this window and Milik was one of their targets alongside Memphis Depay. Depay proved to be too expensive for them and they moved for the Pole instead. He would join them on an initial loan deal worth 500k Euros. If he does well and they see a future in him, they will make the transfer permanent for 7.5m Euros, Matchplug understands. This brings an end to Juventus’ search for a new striker as the Bianconeri did not want to be with just Dusan Vlahovic as a frontman in this campaign. They will hope Milik will stay in form and score as many goals as possible for them.

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Giants Set To Take On Tigers; Expert Game Picks

San Francisco Giants vs. Detroit Tigers  Over/Under: 7.5   Odds: San Francisco Giants -166  Time: Wednesday, August 24th, 1:10 PM ET   The San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers will be lining up against one another here on Wednesday. This game will end the Tigers five game homestand. Let’s dive deeper into this matchup.   Giants Starting Logan Webb The Giants are planning to send out Logan Webb in this game. He’s picked up two quality starts over the course of the season but it’s not really what you’re looking for out of a guy who’s started at least 17 games with his 11-6 record. He’s got a 3.08 ERA as well. Unfortunately, he has a tough game the last time he was out on the mound for San Francisco. He started against the Arizona Diamondbacks and went a little over four innings while allowing five runs and nine hits. The Giants certainly hope that he going to be capable of bounce back for this game. That game against Arizona could just have been a fluke performance though. After all, it was the first time in 70 career starts that Webb hadn’t recorded a single strikeout.  Manning Hitting The Mound For Detroit Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers will be rolling out Matt Manning. Manning has been playing well but the rest of his team hasn’t. He’s going to be making his fifth start for them here against the Giants. The only reason he hasn’t been on the mound more is because he was sidelined for nearly four months due to a shoulder injury. Now that he’s back, he’s helping the Tigers stay competitive. His record is sitting at just 0-1 but he’s got a strong ERA of 2.81. Manning has phenomenal potential, but the Tigers just have to get going. For example, Manning put away 13 out of the last 14 batters he faced during his last game on the mound. Want to know what happened that game? The Tigers got shut out.   Final Picks This is going to be the second time in two days that we’ve gotten to watch the Giants take on the Tigers. Tuesday watched the Giants win 3-1 against Detroit following a huge hit from Evan Longoria. Detroit watched 13 batters get struck out that night and even had bases loaded in the ninth but couldn’t bring in anything off of it. So, let’s look at which team can win this game and how the over/under will go. First things first, I believe that the under is going to cash out in this one. The Giants and Tigers scored just four runs on Tuesday and now Manning will be coming in to shut down San Francisco. If he can perform like he has recently, then the game will result in some lower scores. Plus, even though Webb didn’t do well in this last game out, the Tigers are notoriously bad when batting this year. Then, I feel like the Giants are going to win this game. San Francisco has beaten them two out of three times in 2022 and their team is overall better than the Tigers. The only way this goes the other direction is if Manning can play near perfect and hope that his team puts up some runs. Given how the Tigers haven’t scored over five runs in a single game since August 15th, it looks like a stretch to expect a big game there.  Prediction: San Francisco Giants  Pick: Under 7.5 Runs 

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Club Brugge rejects West Ham’s £10.8m bid for Vanaken

West Ham has been told to pay more money by Club Brugge for their captain, Hans Vanaken. The Belgian has been on the radar of David Moyes’ side in recent weeks as they look to add newer players to their squad. The Hammers had a great European campaign last season, but they finished in the Conference League place in the Premier League. They have started this season badly and want to back Moyes with the players he needs to turn things around. After securing the signature of Chelsea left-back, Emerson Palmieri, they have turned their attention to bolstering their midfield. Vanaken has been at Brugge since 2015, and he has made over 260 league appearances for them, scoring 80 goals. The 30-year-old has spent all his career playing in Belgium, and he knows this is his last chance to play in a top European league. Matchplug understands that he wants the move and has told his present employer. But they want the Hammers to pay more than the £9.2million plus £1.6m in add-ons they have offered so far.

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Leicester City reject Chelsea’s new Fofana bid and banish him to under 23

Leicester City is maintaining their stance that Wesley Fofana is not for sale for under £80m and they have rejected a new bid from Chelsea. The Blues have reached an agreement over personal terms with the Frenchman and they are now looking to strike an agreement with the Foxes to sign him. They have had numerous bids for his signature rejected and Brendan Rodgers dropped him for Leicester’s match at the weekend. The defender has asked them to sell him and he even missed training just to force through the move. Chelsea knows he wants to join them and they are pushing to make the move happen. Matchplug understands that their latest bid is worth around £70m. ideally, it should be enough for them to sell him. However, Leicester does not want to sell unless Chelsea meets their asking price. Rodgers has now banished the former Saint Etienne man to the under23s as he missed training to force the transfer.

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Cardinals Take On The Cubs: Expert Pick

We get to see the clash of two teams in the NL Central division clash against one another when the St. Louis Cardinals travel to play the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals are currently favored to win this game after knocking off the Arizona Diamondbacks in their last game. Meanwhile, the Cubs fall into the underdog category coming into this game following a 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Let’s take a look at each of these teams and predict which of them is an absolute lock to win this game.   Cardinals Starting Montgomery Starting off with the road team, the Cardinals. Jordan Montgomery is the probable pitcher for them to start this game off hot. Montgomery has pitched in 24 games throughout the year and is holding onto a solid 3.29 ERA. Out of those 24 games, he’s picked up a whopping 10 quality starts to his name. For those that don’t know, a quality start is when a pitcher goes for six or more innings and has an ERA of less than three by the time he subs out. It’s been a while since Montgomery has been pulled early also. He’s gone at least five innings in his past three outings. We’ve seen Montgomery pitch against Chicago earlier in the year, going seven innings and allowing just five hits on 26 batters.   Cubs Hope To Bounce Back With Smyly Then flipping over to the Cubs, we will be likely be seeing Drew Smyly. Smyly is making his 17th start of the year but has a negative record of 5-6 to his name. His ERA remains average at 3.67 and he hasn’t pitched in nearly a week. That last game was against the Washington Nationals when he allowed two earned runs and four hits throughout a little over five innings of action. He’s been far worse than Montgomery in the quality starts category as well. Smyly just has three quality starts to his name out of 16 games, whereas Montgomery has 10 in 24 games. To make matters worse for Chicago, Smyly is being put against one of the hottest batting teams in the league. St. Louis is eighth in the league in total hits, fifth in batting average and eighth in total home runs.   Final Pick So, when it comes down to picking a winner for this game, it’s hard to imagine choosing against the Cardinals. St. Louis has been on an absolute tear lately and it’s been apparent in their record. The Cardinals are in first place in their division by five games and have won eight out of their last 10 games. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they’ve won seven straight as well. Couple all of that information with the fact that Montgomery is heading to the mound, and they look like a surefire bet to win. After all, he’s almost pitched as many quality starts as he has non-quality starts. Which is a very hard task to accomplish. Chicago has won eight out of their last 11 games, but I don’t know if I can trust Smyly against a team like the Cardinals. They have been on a tear when it comes to batting and Smyly has been inconsistent as it is. Again, I just feel like the Cardinals are going to keep on cruising here.  

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Xavi wants to offload Dest

Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez, is not a fan of Sergino Dest and he has made it clear that the full-back is not in his plans. Barca signed him in 2020, and he was a key member of their squad under Ronald Koeman. However, he struggled to play in the last campaign and Barca has to offload some players from their books. Xavi recently spoke about his options at right-back and he ignored the former Ajax man, claiming Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto and Jules Kounde can play there, even though the latter has not been registered to play for them yet. Asked about Dest, he said, as quoted by Matchplug: ‘He knows what the situation is.’  This is a clear sign that the former midfielder wants to force the full-back out and he has interest from the Premier League. Manchester United has the strongest in him, with the Red Devils now being managed by his former boss, Erik Ten Hag.

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