This Week's Best Spot Bet Opportunities
By Ben Burns
Covers.com
Letdown spot
Hopes are high in Big D this season. The Cowboys scored a bumper crop of talented – yet controversial – players in the draft (and after it) and are coming off a 2014 campaign in which they were one tough call away from the NFC Championship Game. Dallas gets put to the test in Weeks 8 and 9, hosting the Seattle Seahawks in a massive revenge game for Seattle and the Philadelphia Eagles and former RB DeMarco Murray in consecutive weeks.
Following that grueling stretch of sked, the Cowboys go to the Gulf Coast for a meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and new QB Jameis Winston. The Bucs appear set for leaps and bounds in Year 2 under Lovie Smith and are getting just 4.5-point from oddsmakers for this Week 10 matchup – a line that stinks of letdown for Dallas.
Schedule spot
The Toronto Blue Jays have a hectic schedule on the go, playing three games in Baltimore this week before flying from the East Coast to Houston for four games starting Thursday. Toronto wraps in Baltimore Wednesday following a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch and must fly overnight and be on the field at Minute Maid Park for an 8:10 p.m. ET start time Thursday.
The Jays are bad enough away from home without having to jump a red-eye across most of the continent. Toronto is 3-8 in its last 11 road games heading into Tuesday’s Game 2 with the Orioles, and hitting .243 BA with a MLB-high 152 strikeouts away from the Rogers Centre. The Jays went 1-3 in their last four-game trip to Houston, getting outscored 17-4 in those losses.
Lookahead spot
The Los Angeles Angels make their first real road trip this week when they head out on a 10-game trek that has them in Baltimore Friday, then Toronto and eventually Boston – a trip that finishes on May 24. The Halos have been on the road plenty this season, going 7-8 as visitors, but haven’t ventured too far from home.
The Angels have stayed within their division - at Seattle, Texas, Houston and Oakland - and played an interleague set against the San Francisco Giants. With this cross-country hike on deck, we are wary of a possible lookahead to this trip as Los Angeles’ players ready their off-field affairs ahead of Wednesday’s series finale at home against the Colorado Rockies. The Halos haven’t been great on getaway days this season, losing both home stands before hitting the highway the following game.