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Guess what? You did it. You made it over the hump and the bulk of the workweek is now behind you as we cruise towards the weekend. As Paul Rudd once said, "Look at us. Hey, look at us." Fortunately for me, today is my Friday as I'll be off for the next few days taking some time off before the NFL season truly gets rolling. Once I get back, we're off to the races until Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in February. And I expect that to be here in the blink of an eye. 

While I recharge the batteries, I'll most likely be combing through various rotations that my Boston Celtics will be able to deploy now that they've signed point guard Dennis Schroder to a one-year deal on Tuesday night. Given the price point and need at the position, this was a savvy move by Brad Stevens, but you do have to feel for Schroder, who completely misread his market.

After turning down a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the Lakers at the deadline earlier this year, the 27-year-old found himself on the outside looking in on the free agency spending and had to settle for a $5.9 million with Boston. While poor play down the stretch in the playoffs contributed to his market going stale, that's roughly a $78 million miscalculation by Schroder's camp. 

Hopefully, for Schroder's bank account -- and my Celtics fandom -- he'll be able to ball out in Boston this coming season and create a better market for himself when he hits free agency once again in 2022. In the meantime, let's not follow in my new point guard's footsteps and actually try to maximize our earning potential tonight. 

Alrighty, let's go out there and cash! 

All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook


🔥 The Hot Ticket

Athletics vs. Indians, 7:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV 
The Pick: Athletics (-145) --
It took 10 innings for Oakland to get the edge over Cleveland on Tuesday, making it five straight wins for them heading into Wednesday's slate. Not only that, but they've now captured six consecutive wins against the Indians in Cleveland.

Tonight, the A's will be sending Frankie Montas to the mound, who has pitched well as of late. He has double-digit strikeouts in three of his previous five starts and all three of those contests were on the road. Oakland is one of the better road teams in the league, winning 57.4% of their games (tied for third-best in the MLB). Meanwhile, Cleveland is 8-20 in their last 28 games against teams with a winning record. Take the A's here. 

Key Trend: The Athletics are 6-1 in the last seven games against a team with a losing record


💰 The Picks

Reds vs. Braves, 7:20 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Reds (+110)
--  The Braves are surging in the NL East race as they're now just one game behind the Phillies for the division lead after a win last night. However, the Reds are also fighting for a playoff spot and look to have the pitching edge in the second game of this series on Wednesday with Wade Miley taking the hill.

He's coming into tonight's matchup with a 2.75 ERA for the season and has been particularly sharp as of late, owning a 1.93 ERA over his last five starts. He's gone seven innings deep in his two previous outings and allowed just three earned runs over that stretch. 

When you factor in Miley pitching at a high level along with the Braves ranking 19th in the league in OPS against lefties this year, it should be a bounceback night for Cincinnati. 

Boston Red Sox v Tampa Bay Rays
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Rays vs. Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Rays (+105) 
-- Boston has taken a serious tumble in the second half of the season. Tuesday night's game with the Rays was no exception, as they surrendered four runs in the top of the ninth to fall, 8-4. That now leaves the Red Sox 2-10 in their last 12 and 1-8 in their last nine games against American League East rivals.

The bleeding may not stop on Wednesday at Fenway, either. Boston will deploy Nathan Eovaldi, who is 0-2 in his last two starts with a 10.80 ERA. One of those losses was to the Rays, who dropped six runs (five earned) against him through 5.1 innings of work on July 31. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay will start Josh Fleming, who may find success against Boston's bats. Against a lefty starter, the Sox are 0-7 in their last seven games.