Good morning Pickswise Nation and welcome to another fantastic Friday of sports. We have a busy MLB slate to enjoy today, plus NFL preseason and EPL soccer action, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

Red Sox go run crazy in rout of Astros
Thursday’s MLB slate was smaller than usual but it still provided some headlines, not least the Boston Red Sox crushing World Series champions the Houston Astros 17-1! The Dodgers registered two wins over the Guardians in a day, completing a suspended game with a 6-1 win before adding a 9-3 success in the scheduled game. The Rangers are still (just) top of the AL West, but suffered their 7th straight loss when beaten 7-5 by the Twins.

Wins for Colts and Steelers
The final week of the NFL preseason began with wins for the Steelers and Colts last night. Pittsburgh’s starters bullied Atlanta’s backups as they went up 17-0 in the first quarter of a 24-0 win. After that, Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson started but completed only 6 of 17 passes in his team’s 27-13 win over the Eagles.

Today’s Slate

15 MLB games on Friday
We are back up to a full slate of 15 MLB games today, with Apple TV+ showing Dodgers vs Red Sox at 7:10 pm ET and Royals vs Mariners at 10:10 pm ET.

There’s NFL & soccer too
There are 3 NFL preseason games today, including Lions vs Panthers on CBS at 8:00 pm ET, and you can check out our NFL picks here. There is also Friday action in the EPL this week with Chelsea tackling Premier League newcomers Luton on Peacock at 3:00 pm ET. Our soccer predictions also feature our previews of the weekend EPL and MLS games, including Lionel Messi’s regular-season debut for Inter Miami.

Best Bet of the Day

NFL: Over 36.5 points in Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers
8:00 pm ET, CBS

The Lions’ defense was awful last season, and that has shown no signs of changing thus far in 2023. Detroit allowed 5.7 yards per play and lost the time of possession battle by nearly 15 minutes against the Jaguars. Head coach Dan Campbell has already indicated that he won’t be playing his starters, but the Lions still should be able to put up points against a Carolina team that has allowed a combined 48 points over its first two preseason games.

Stat of the Day

The USWNT has lost #1 spot in the FIFA world rankings for the first time in 6 years after its early World Cup exit, falling to 3rd place behind Sweden and World Cup champions Spain.

Quote of the Day

“We’re gonna go day to day and just see how it goes. See how he feels.”

Angels GM Perry Minasian is hoping for the best after announcing star man Shohei Ohtani will not pitch again this season due to an elbow injury.