The Daily Sweat: Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols continue their milestone chase
Technically, the MLB single-season record for home runs is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001. However, for a lot of people, the real record is held by Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs in 1961. Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire all had better seasons in terms of hitting home runs, but of course, all three used performance enhancing drugs.
Maris' record is likely going to be broken this season by Aaron Judge. Judge sits at 59 home runs after he hit two more against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. With the Yankees having 16 games remaining, it's a matter of when, and not if for Judge. With the way he's hitting, he might just tie Maris on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Judge has 11 multi-home run games this season, including two in the last week.
The Yankees are massive -350 favorites against the Pirates on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. They are 2.5-run favorites on the run-line. The best way to bet this game might just be to bet Aaron Judge to hit a home run. Judge is currently +160 to hit a home run on Tuesday night.
Judge isn't the only slugger chasing home run history across the league. Albert Pujols has announced it's his final season playing baseball, and he's looking to go out in style. Pujols currently sits at 698 career home runs and there's a very good chance he ends his playing career by being one of just four players in MLB history to reach 700 home runs. Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the only three to reach this milestone.
After hitting just six home runs in the first half of the season, Pujols has hit 13 dingers since the all-star break. Pujols' Cardinals are +100 road underdogs against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night. Pujols is currently +360 to hit a home run to move to within one of 700.
What else is on the MLB schedule?
The most intriguing race in baseball remains in the NL East. The New York Mets clinched a playoff spot on Monday night as Max Scherzer was perfect through six innings in his return from the IL. However, they're just a game up on the Atlanta Braves for the division. The two teams are tied in the loss column. On Tuesday, the Mets are -120 favorites on the road in Milwaukee while the Braves are massive -300 favorites at home against the Nationals. The Mets remain -250 favorites to win the division, which seems a little steep.
The Chicago White Sox are running out of time to catch the Cleveland Guardians, but they have a massive opportunity this week as the teams open a three-game set on Tuesday in Chicago. The White Sox are a -175 favorite on Tuesday with Dylan Cease on the mound. Cease is +340 to win the AL Cy Young, the second-best odds behind Justin Verlander. Cleveland currently has a four-game lead over the White Sox, but if Chicago can somehow sweep this series, things suddenly become very interesting. Cleveland is -1600 to win the division while Chicago is +900.
First look at Week 3 lines
Week 2 is in the books after a pair of one-sided games on Monday night. We have to wait until Thursday for Week 3 to begin, but it's not too early to take a look at the betting lines ahead of this weekend. Here are the current lines at BetMGM:
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland (-5)
Baltimore (-3) @ New England
Buffalo (-5.5) @ Miami
Cincinnati (-4.5) @ NY Jets
New Orleans (-3) @ Carolina
Kansas City (-6.5) @ Indianapolis
Las Vegas (-2.5) @ Tennessee
Philadelphia (-6.5) @ Washington
Houston @ Chicago (-2.5)
Detroit @ Minnesota (-6)
Jacksonville @ LA Chargers (-7)
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay (-2.5)
Atlanta @ Seattle (-1.5)
LA Rams (-4) @ Arizona
San Francisco (-1.5) @ Denver
Dallas @ NY Giants (-2.5)
