Daily Sports Betting Preview 8/18/2020: MLB, Caribbean Premier League, NHL Playoffs

• The New York Yankees are +109 underdogs against a division rival in the Tampa Bay Rays.
• St. Kitts and Nevis are +102 underdogs against the Barbados Tridents.
• The New York Islanders are -115 favorites up 3-0 in their series against the Washington Capitals.

NEW YORK - Today’s edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview comes on a Tuesday, and looks to be a great one.

First, in the world of Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees are set to take on a division rival in the form of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Then, hundreds of miles away, the Caribbean Premier League brings cricket action to the sportsbooks.

Finally, the NHL Playoffs continue today, which means there are some good hockey bets to be found.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

MLB Betting

The New York Yankees entered the season with high expectations. They were the best team in the American League according to the sportsbooks.

They have, so far, more or less lived up to that billing. The Yankees are 16-6 and are in first place in their division.

The Yankees have their problems, although they are few and far between. The most notable problem that they have is that their pitching staff, with the exception of Gerrit Cole, is a bit unreliable.

A more immediate problem for the Yankees, however, is the absence of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Judge and Stanton are the heart of the Yankees order, and a big part of the punch in their lineup.

Facing off against the dangerous Tampa Bay Rays without their two most powerful hitters seems a bit problematic, to say the least.

The Rays are 14-9, and are sitting in second place in the AL East, behind the Yankees, of course.

They’ve had a good season so far, and have actually taken three games off of the Yankees already.

Without Judge and Stanton, the Yankees are certainly looking a little worse game-to-game than they would otherwise.

The expected pitching matchup for today pits Masahiro Tanaka against Blake Snell, a matchup that seems to favor Snell.

Tanaka is a good pitcher, and there’s not much bad to say about him so far this season, but Snell is a great one.

The two pitchers have already faced off once this season, with the Rays eventually winning the game.

It’s worth noting that Tanaka was great in that game, however, giving up only one hit in five innings pitched.

With all of the circumstances out of the way, let’s take a look at the actual odds for this matchup between the Yankees and the Rays.

The mighty New York Yankees are finally underdogs on the moneyline. It’s taken a lot to get here:

• Aaron Judge is out.
• Giancarlo Stanton is out.
• They have an unfavorable pitching matchup.
• They are playing against a division rival.
• They are playing a team they have a losing record against.

It is relatively unlikely that these circumstances repeat themselves. This could be one of the few times all season that the Yankees are an underdog on the moneyline.

The run line is pretty interesting in this matchup. The Yankees, as underdogs, get the +1.5 handicap, which gives them -155 odds.

The favored Rays get the -1.5 handicap, which gives them +135 odds.

This one looks like it should be seriously compelling, and MLB bettors should absolutely pay attention.

Caribbean Premier League Cricket Betting

The Caribbean Premier League kicks off today with some interesting cricket matchups for prospective cricket bettors to examine.

The Caribbean Premier League is a Twenty20 cricket league. This means that the two teams play single innings, with a maximum of 20 overs.

Twenty20 cricket is a relatively new invention, and was designed in order to make the game faster and more accessible.

This means that the Caribbean Premier League is a good way for online sports betting players to take a look at one of the most popular games in the world.

St. Kitts and Nevis are +102 moneyline underdogs in the second match on the table today, which is today’s highlighted matchup.

They face off against the Barbados Tridents, who boast -122 odds as the moneyline favorites today.

The Tridents are the current champions of the Caribbean Premier League, while St. Kitts and Nevis have never won the Premier League.

This looks like it could be a nice challenge for sports bettors, and a good way to get into betting on cricket.

NHL Betting

The New York Islanders have been sublime in their performance against their rivals, the Washington Capitals.

Despite being the underdog entering the series, the Islanders have put on three great performances against the Caps so far.

These performances have been fairly dominant - to the point that Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has voiced a fairly grim outlook on the series.

"Obviously, for us right now it's nothing to lose, right?”, said Ovechkin, per ESPN. "I know it's a hard situation, but it's not over yet."

A 3-0 lead is a hard one to blow, but by a similar token, it’s hard to win four games in a row in the NHL.

The Islanders have looked like much the better team during the run of this series. Their -115 odds reflect a change in attitude toward them due to this fact.

Entering the series they were underdogs, but their performances have shattered that belief - they are favored straight up against the Capitals now.

The Capitals, for their part, are not very far behind, at -105 odds.

This looks to be a match that is well worth watching for fans and NHL bettors alike, either to see Barry Trotz’s final revenge, or to see the Capitals live to fight another day.

Happy Betting!