After leading the AL West for the majority of the season, the A’s ran into a major speedbump that has dropped them from first. They now sit 4.5 games behind the Angels for the top spot after their series-opening win against Seattle on Monday. Oakland will ask Sonny Gray to grab the victory in game two as they attempt to string together a couple of wins in an effort to climb back into the division race. We like Oakland in this game as Seattle falls further in the standings.
Athletics need wins now and plenty of them
Oakland is in desperate need of wins as the race for the AL West has come down to the final month of the season. Just a couple of months ago, it looked as if the A’s would run away with the division title, but the Angels made sure that did not happen. Gray is 13-7 on the season with an ERA of 3.03, which he will look to lower even further when he takes the mound tonight against the Mariners.
Mariners still close in the AL Wild Card race
Seattle is just 1.5 games out of the second AL Wild Card spot as they face the Athletics in Oakland tonight. After a loss in game one, the Mariners will send rookie lefty James Paxton to the mound in game two. He is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.83 ERA this season. Paxton will be facing the A’s for the first time in his young career, in which he is 7-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He is the youngest starter in the Majors to have such a low ERA in the first 11 games since 1990.
Oakland and Seattle collide on Tuesday night for an AL West battle and we will place our wager at TopBet.eu, where the A’s are favored to win the game. We are going to bet 15 percent of our bankroll on Gray and the A’s as they take this game with the -1.5 (+150) spread over the Mariners.
Chris Wassel
AA, AAS
CURRENTLY
Sports Writer and Journalist
RESIDES IN
Rahway, NJ
EDUCATION
Union County College, Montclair State University
EXPERTISE
Business, Writing, Sports, Food, Grilling, Olympics, Injuries, Politics, and more
Summary
Member of FSWA, FSGA, and a variety of Sports Betting Groups.
Lead arranger of news and injury reports for Rotoballer Hockey. Also did the news lead for NASCAR on the same site coming out of COVID.
Strategy and mapping out of various sports betting and sports articles for MyNHLTradeRumors and gambling.com.
Runs a hockey and fantasy hockey podcast that teaches fantasy hockey players how to improve their skills.
Experience
Chris Wassel has 20+ years of sports journalistic experience in various disciplines..
His ability to play sports is well documented. Most people in the business just write. However, Chris will race cars and even a super Moto bike from time to time. There is that fitness and hiking/cycling aspect too.
Chris has climbed mountains from Mount Washington to Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California. For those that do not know. Chris also dabbles in food eating contests and challenges. Having a unique background with friends including Joey Chestnut and Casey Webb, Chris has the ability to eat a whole 16-pound turkey or a 32 inch meat lover's pizza.
Since 2013, Chris has primarily focused on sports writing and fitness. On social media, he will answer any question in many different aspects. Even Chris's ability to wager on Entertainment and US Elections is well documented. He was able to predict Joe Biden's inevitable dip in approval rating below 40%.
Throughout his career, Chris has worked at a lot of places from DraftKings to USA Today and much more.
Finally, Chris has been nominated for quite a few awards from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for Hockey Writer Of The Year. Also, there have been a number of amazing fantasy hockey championships from expert to high-stake leagues.
Education
Chris received an Associates from Union Country College for business and accounting. Chris did sports journalism work at Montclair State University covering the hockey, baseball, and football teams.
Quote from Chris Wassel
"Do Not Think, Just Do.”
Education
1999 Graduate of Union County College
1993 Graduate of Rahway High School
Professional Achievements
Media credentialed member of the New Jersey Devils since 2010
Covered several NHL Drafts including the one day event in Newark in 2013
Been on countless podcasts, TV shows, and more including Sportsnet and even NHL Network