Dinger Tuesday: Get in a bet on this Met 

Lugo delivered, Irvin did not. Plus-money had us scraping out ahead to start the week but we'd sure like to find us a big day already. It's the second day of the week so we dive once again into the long-ball market to celebrate Dinger Tuesday.

How 'bout some homers as we hit August

Marcell Ozuna (+400 FanDuel)

Sometimes it can be as simple as following the hot bat, and few are hotter than Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna right now. The Braves slugger has four HRs in his last four games, and we'd like to jump on that momentum here in a plus-matchup for the long ball.

The Atlanta heat is aiding a 10% expected boost for HRs, which should help both sides here. Remember, this Dinger Tuesday promotion is most effective in games when homers should be flowing, as you get a $5 bonus bet back per HR hit if you bet $25 on one batter. The Braves are first in baseball with 200 HRs, and the Angels aren't far behind with 166 HRs, the third-most in MLB.

Ozuna hits lefties far better, and that's what he has here in Patrick Sandoval. His ISO of .324 vs. LHP far exceeds his .219 mark against RHP. He has a HR in 8.5% of his plate appearances against lefties compared to a 5.6% rate when a righty is on the rubber.

Francisco Alvarez (+450 DraftKings best price, +420 FanDuel for promotion

A few Tuesdays back, Francisco Alvarez delivered for us, and we're returning to the New York Met here in an advantageous spot.

It's not so much the weather but rather the pitcher. Zack Greinke is on the mound for the Royals, and his 20 HRs allowed is the second-most among the day's pitchers and 16th-most in the league. 

Alvarez seems like a solid choice to get in on the fun here. He's hitting .256 vs RHP and has an ISO of .331, compared to .175/.125 vs. LHP. 17 of his 20 HRs this season have come against righties.

Alvarez knocked a HR in his most recent game, and he's typically been a man who hits his homers in spurts. The hope here is that his last game will get the ball rolling on a steady stream of homers, and we'd sure like that streak to build tonight.

In the news ...

Broncos suffer a pair of losses to their WR room — The hope in 2023 is Russell Wilson figures things out and gets back to the type of QB we know he can be, but looks like he'll need to do that without a few of his pass-catching options. WR Tim Patrick is out for the season with a torn Achilles and fellow receiver KJ Hamler is dealing with a heart irritation that will sideline him indefinitely. We feel for both these gentlemen, but now the attention turns to what is left. Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton were already the top two WRs on this team and their workload figures to only grow. Both seem like viable targets for props early this season and fantasy drafts. Jeudy is +4500 to lead the NFL in receiving and Sutton is +8000. Jeudy led Denver with 972 yards last year, while Sutton paced the team with 109 targets.

USWNT advances out of Group Stage despite two draws — The U.S. women will have a chance to defend their crown at the World Cup, but the early returns are not looking too promising. They played their most uninspiring match yet, a 0-0 draw to Portugal that saw their defense get picked apart and their offense failed to find any fluidity. Due to their second-place finish in Group E, a date with Sweden awaits in the Round of 16, a team that has given the USWNT trouble before. As of this writing, no futures odds are available, but it's safe to say the U.S. is no longer the favorite.

Rays trade for Aaron Civale to round out rotation — Cleveland has shipped out their ace Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for first base prospect Kyle Manzardo. Civale is currently sitting on a 2.34 ERA and immediately tightens up Tampa's rotation, a group that badly needed a fifth starter. The Rays currently are 1.5 games back of Baltimore for the top spot in the AL East and are +700 to win this year's World Series, the third-best odds in the league.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll