Thank God it's Friday: Blue Jays Lose AL East lead, Cardinals Falling in NL

by Ricky Dimon - 9/9/2016

Football is finally underway, what with the first week of college football having come and gone in addition to the NFL season opener that produced a thriller between the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos on Thursday night. But baseball cannot be forgotten, because pennant races are heating up with less than one month remaining. There is still time for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals to turn things around, but they need to get going sooner rather than later.

Odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Toronto Blue Jays . The AL East has been the most competitive division from start to finish, and there was yet another change at the top earlier this week. While Toronto has lost three in a row, the Boston Red Sox picked up a pair of victories over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday and Thursday that propelled them into first place by one game. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, they at least have a one-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles and a two-game cushion on the Detroit Tigers in the wild-card standings. A huge three-game series in Toronto between the Jays and Red Sox begins on Friday. Boston (Porcello) is a -112 favorite at Toronto (Estrada).

St. Louis Cardinals . It has been many moons since the Cardinals (73-66) were all but eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in NL Central title contention. But St. Louis is still locked in an intense wild-card battle, and right now the team is on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. The Cards have dropped two in a row and are 3-5 in their last eight games to fall into third place in the wild-card standings. Coinciding with St. Louis' slump is a surge by the New York Mets (74-66), who are in the midst of a five-game winning streak and would be part of a one-game playoff at the San Francisco Giants if the season ended today. The Cardinals are +1400 to win the NL Pennant.

Cam Newton . This NFL season started just as the last one ended, with Carolina losing to Denver. In a rematch of Super Bowl 50, the Panthers paid a visit to Mile High Stadium on Thursday night and fell to the Broncos 21-20. The reigning NFC champions set themselves up in decent position for a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, but Graham Gano pulled his 50-yard attempt wide left. As for Newton, he was sacked three times, took eight hits on pass attempts, and endured additional contact on 11 quarterback keepers. Although he took several blows of the helmet-to-helmet variety, only one penalty was called. Both Carolina and Denver are +1200 to win the Super Bowl.

USC . Well, the first week could not have gone any worse for Southern Cal. Not only were the Trojans humiliated by Alabama 52-6, but they also lost center Toa Lobendahn for the remainder of the season because of a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Lobendahn, who sustained the injury on USC's second offensive series but played the rest of the game, tore his left ACL in 2015 and missed the last seven games of that season. As for the actual contest, the Trojans probably wish last Saturday's festivities in Arlington, Tex., had been called off after the first quarter. They led 3-0 at that point only to see the Crimson Tide score 52 of the next 55 points. USC finished with a mere 194 total yards off offense to the Tide's 465. 'Bama is a +400 favorite to win the National Championship.

Arsenal . The 2016-17 Premier League is off to a tough start for the Gunners, who are already five points back of league-leading Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea through three matches. Arsenal is saddled with four points following a 4-3 loss to Liverpool, a 0-0 draw against Leicester City, and a 3-1 victory over Watford. City. United, and Chelsea, meanwhile, are all a perfect 3-0 with nine points. But this weekend will provide Arsene Wenger's club with an opportunity to gain some ground. Saturday's schedule pits the Gunners against Southampton, which is 0-1-2 and in 15^th place on the table with two points, while the week's marquee matchup is none other than the Manchester Derby. United is a +125 home favorite; City is +220 and a draw is +230.

Kevin Harvick . Harvick finished second in last weekend's Sprint Cup event at Darlington Raceway. Is that good? It's not bad! But it was not good enough for Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team, which has made a pit-crew move that also involves Danica Patrick. During the Darlington festivities, Harvick lost the lead twice due to poor pit stops and eventually ran behind winner Martin Truex Jr. Two members of the No. 4 crew are switching to Patrick, and vice versa. "I'm over being a cheerleader," Harvick explained following his second-place showing. "Those guys get paid a lot of money to perform on pit road, and cheerleading hasn't really been working. You've got to get after it on pit road and do your job." He will hope the changes pay off on Saturday night in Richmond. Harvick is +550 at MyBookie.ag to win the Sprint Cup championship; Kyle Busch is a +500 favorite.

Serena Williams . For a second consecutive year, Serena has bowed out of the U.S. Open in the semifinals. This was not as big of a shocker as her 2015 loss to Roberta Vinci, but at the same time no one really saw a Thursday night setback against Karolina Pliskova coming. Pliskova is in outstanding form having captured the Cincinnati title last month, but Serena is Serena. The 34-year-old American is a six-time champion in Flushing Meadows and lifted the trophy in 2012, 2013, and 2014 prior to this two-year drought. Thursday's stunner will cost Serena the No. 1 world ranking and leave her tied with Steffi Graf in the department of consecutive weeks at the top spot (186). Angelique Kerber, who will be the new No. 1 on Monday, is Pliskova's opponent in the final. Kerber is a -175 favorite.

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