It might seem like the absolute dregs of summer, with a totally blank calendar for online sports betting. But that’s not the case!
College Football Playoff odds just dropped at the BetMGM online sportsbook, and this weekend features an intriguing mix of summer baseball, golf, and tennis. The NFL Hall of Fame game is also only a few days away.
Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights for this weekend sports calendar:
Major League Baseball
Boston Red Sox at San Francisco Giants
Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30
The MLB odds market is really heating up with August looming, and the two most exciting division races remain the AL East and the NL West.
In the East, Baltimore has finally overtaken the Rays for first place in the division. Barring a total collapse, both teams are likely bound for the postseason. Third-place Toronto, fourth-place Boston, and fifth-place New York are all fighting for playoff positioning in a division where all five teams are at least five games over .500.
In the West, the Dodgers have been fending off Arizona at the top of the standings for months, but it’s now San Francisco that’s putting together a vintage late-season charge. On May 10, the Giants’ record dropped to 16-20 after losing a series to the struggling Nationals; since then, they’re 40-27.
The Giants have a one-game lead on Arizona and are now only three back of the Dodgers for first. This weekend, they’ll need to contain a Red Sox team that hits .266 as a team – tied with Atlanta for the second-best mark in the Majors.
Golf
3M Open
Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, July 30 | ESPN+
With many of the top names on tour taking a well-deserved rest after last week’s British Open, the PGA Tour is now headed to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota for the 3M Open.
Cameron Young, Sungjae Im, and Tony Finau all checked in at +1600 on Wednesday morning, conferring each of them an unofficial status as co-favorites. Hideki Matsuyama was just behind them in the table at +1800.
Finau, who won this tournament in 2022, was the opening favorite at +1200. However, his odds were adjusted after drawing only 3.5% of tickets at BetMGM. Of the three early co-favorites, it was Young who was most popular, drawing nearly 10% of the market handle.
Sepp Straka seems to be the golf betting community’s pick of the week, as the Austrian dropped from +2800 to +2200 after drawing 8.3% of all tickets and 13.2% of all handle. Straka is arguably the hottest golfer on tour right now after winning the John Deere Classic on July 9 and finishing second at Royal Liverpool last weekend.
Tennis
Hamburg European Open
Monday, July 24 through Sunday, July 30 | Tennis Channel
The U.S. Open is still a month away, so many professional tennis players are taking some time off during this period after a grueling first six months.
Many of those who are still playing are in Germany this week for the 2023 Hamburg European Open. There are hardcourt tournaments for tour players this week – ATP Atlanta, for example – but many returned to Hamburg’s clay for a dual tour event. This is a 500-level event for the men and a 250-level event for the women.
On the men’s side, French Open finalist Casper Ruud is a capable No. 1 seed, with Andrey Rublev coming off the bottom of the draw as the No. 2. The field of 32 includes many capable clay players, including Italian Lorenzo Musetti and hometown favorite Yannick Hanfmann, but a chalky final is most likely.
On the women’s side, the draw and tennis betting odds are absolutely flipped – both No. 1 seed Donna Vekic and No. 2 seed Mayar Sherif lost in the first round. The tournament title is totally up for grabs.