VSiN Primetime | August 24, 2026 | Hour 1

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is VSiN Primetime. Live from the Circus Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas on VSiN, the SportsBetting Network.

**Tim Murray** (0:13)
We are off and running on a Monday evening alongside Matt Youmans. I'm Tim Murray. Matt, we've made it. It is college football game week, final week of the preseason.
What's that down the road? College football season right around the corner.

**Matt Youmans** (0:30)
Feels good.
It's not around the corner. It's here. It's here, baby. You and I will be at Hawaii football practice, what, six in the morning on Tuesday in Honolulu. So looking forward to it and everything that happens this week. We announced a Circus Friday football invitational today, the fifth annual. We'll talk about that later tonight. But tonight it's still baseball, Tim. We don't have a Monday night football game.

**Tim Murray** (0:53)
Well, we've still got plenty of news and notes to get to. There was a quarterback announcement today in Cleveland. And our producer Corey is beyond thrilled, as all Browns fans, I imagine, are, Matt. But yes, you mentioned it. We do have a handful of baseball activity, a couple of games underway to Tampa Bay, raise out to an early lead over the Detroit Tigers, Washington and Colorado. It's a game happening. Doesn't really mean anything, but it is a baseball game happening right now. Our game of the night won't get underway until a little bit later. We also have Rangers and White Sox coming up in about 40 minutes at in Chicago there. The White Sox, a slight favorite in that contest. So you know what, let's just jump right into it. We got a game coming up later on tonight. Two teams vying for a wild card berth. One team trying to get back in that division race. So let's get to our biggest game of the night.
The lights are on and the stakes are high. It's the Primetime game of the night.
940 Eastern, first pitch. Matt, it will be the Chicago Cubs visiting the Arizona Diamondbacks. And unfortunately for the Arizona Diamondbacks, there's a team named the San Diego Padres who are scorching hot right now. They have won a handful in a row, a sweep over the weekend. The Phillies have won nine straight. So they're right on the heels of the Chicago Cubs for the top wild card spot. And the Diamondbacks currently two games out of the final wild card spot occupied by the San Diego Padres. The Cubs over the weekend, Matt, took care of business yesterday, just put up a casual 19 spot on the Seattle Mariners, avoided a three game sweep out in Seattle. Cubs at the Diamondbacks tonight, Cubs around $1.40 favorite against the D-backs. Kevin Gosman gets to start tonight for Chicago.

**Matt Youmans** (2:43)
Yeah, and all eyes on Pete Crow Armstrong right now in the MVP race. We're going to talk about that tonight. PCA and Otani, how about this? Pete Crow Armstrong leading the Cubs in batting average, 281 Home runs, 33 RBI is 83 On base percentage, 379 Hits, 140
Gold Glove defender, he's doing everything for the Cubs. And they won yesterday. Brewers lost and the Cubs were still six games back at Milwaukee in the division race. So every game from here on out, very important for the Cubs if they're going to try to track down Milwaukee. I believe Tim that these teams, Cubs and Brewers have seven games against each other the rest of the way, but Cubs need to take care of business against teams like the Dbacks tonight.

**Tim Murray** (3:24)
Pete Crow Armstrong, minus 185 favorite to win NL's MVP. Shohei Otani sitting there at plus 150, those odds courtesy of FanDuel PCA going yard, yet again yesterday in that dominant win over the Seattle Mariners. But like you mentioned, Matt, the Cubs dropped two of three to Seattle while the Brewers took two of three from the Atlanta Braves. They did lose yesterday in the Little League Classic in Williamsport four to two, the final score yesterday evening. But Diamondbacks, Matt, they have got some work to do, not out of it by any stretch of the imagination, but as I mentioned, the Philadelphia Phillies, winners of nine in a row. How about a walk off? What was that? 460 foot homer from Kyle Schwaber yesterday. They were trailing four nothing in the ninth inning, coming back to win, and the Diamondbacks did take two of three over the weekend against the Cincinnati Reds at home. So Cubs right now, a slight road favorite against the Diamondbacks tonight.

**Matt Youmans** (4:22)
I think based on his pitching matchup, the Cubs should be priced in that range. I did not bet the game because I think the price is right, but again, the Dbacks, like you said, two back of the Padres in the West, 11 back of the Dodgers.