The Angels are a below average offense ranking in the bottom-six in batting average, runs and OPS. They've scored four or fewer runs in six of their last eight games.

But the Angels are the '27 Yankees compared to the Tigers.

Detroit ranks last in the majors in runs, homers and OPS. The Tigers are averaging a puny 2.3 runs in their last eight games.

Toss in two underrated starting pitchers, tough weather conditions and a huge Under umpire and you find this total to be too high.

Detroit starter Drew Hutchinson is 2-7 with a 4.06 ERA. Bad overall numbers. But Hutchinson has been decent during the second half of the season. He hasn't given up more than three earned runs in each of his past seven starts. He has a 3.38 ERA during his last three outings.

Angels starter Patrick Sandoval has been flying under the radar, not allowing more than two earned runs in each of his last six starts. He has a 1.23 ERA during his past three starts.

There's a heat wave on the West Coast. The temperature is expected to be around 100 degrees in LA Wednesday. Making things worse is this is a getaway day game. That means more reserves than normal could be in the starting lineup. The teams are going to want this game to end quickly.

Home plate umpire Pat Hoberg has a two-year track record to oblige them. The Under has cashed 26 of 37 times for 70 percent when Hoberg has been behind the plate during the last two seasons.

It may have been the best game of the entire WNBA season when Las Vegas beat Seattle on the road two days ago in overtime, 110-98. The Aces forced overtime by scoring at the buzzer. The Storm blew a 4-point lead with 11 seconds left. Seattle led the WNBA in free throw percentage and 3-point shooting. But the Storm's Tina Charles missed a pair of free throws near the end that would have likely sealed the victory in regulation for Seattle. The Storm also was outshot from 3-point range by Las Vegas in Sunday's loss.

The Aces can clinch the semifinal series with a victory today leading the best-of-five series 2-1. Seattle won the first game of the series. The Aces have won the last two.

But I deeply envision the Storm forcing a Game 5 by winning this home game.

Why? Let me count the reasons:

I don't see the Storm losing in Sue Bird's final career game at home.

I can't see A'Ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray playing any better than they did this past Sunday. They are both excellent players. Wilson might be the best player in the league. But they were both on their ''A'' game. They can only hope to match those performances, which is going to be extremely difficult.

I don't envision Seattle losing for the third time in a row. The only time the Storm lost three in a row was during their second, third and fourth games of the season back in early-to-mid May. The Aces are 1-4 ATS the past five times following a victory.

I doubt the Aces will shoot better than the Storm from beyond the arc again. Seattle was the No. 1 3-point shooting team in the league. The Aces ranked 10th of 12 teams in 3-point defense. Yet Las Vegas made 52 percent of its 28 3-point shots Sunday, while the Storm hit 48 percent of their 27 3-point shots.

Even though the starting pitching matchup doesn't appear strong, this total still is too high given how bad the Tigers and Angels have been offensively.

The Tigers are last in the majors in runs, homers and OPS. They are averaging 2.5 runs in their last six games.

The Angels aren't much better. They rank in the bottom-five in runs, batting average and OPS. The Angels are averaging just 2.6 runs in their last six games.

Tyler Alexander faces Jose Suarez. Neither starter has a good ERA. Alexander, though, beat the Angels, 4-3, on Aug. 20. Suarez is 4-2 with 32 strikeouts during his last six starts.

The Dodgers lead the majors in runs scored and are second in batting average. They should be in line for another big scoring game facing Mike Clevinger, who they got to for five runs in 4 2/3 innings last month at Dodger Stadium in an 8-3 win against the Padres.

The Padres should do their share of damage as this is a bullpen game for the Dodgers. San Diego is averaging 5.8 runs in its last eight games.

The weather is a plus, too, in this game with a record heatwave in LA and the wind blowing out at 9-10 mph.

This is Game 3 of this semifinal series. The first two games easily went Under the total with 149 and 151 points being scored. The result is we have the lowest total of the series for this game.

There are several factors why these two teams should play a much higher scoring game today.

The Aces led the WNBA in scoring at 90.4 points per game. They should get back two-time All-Star forward Darica Hamby, who has yet to play in the series because of a knee injury. She's averaging 9.3 points. That's not a lot of points, but it's an upgrade on the Aces' weak scoring bench.

Las Vegas evened the series by winning Game 2 this past Wednesday. A key to that victory was going to a small-ball lineup using three guards. This gives the Aces more speed and firepower, but leaves 5-foot-7 Chelsea Gray to cover 6-4 Tina Charles, who led the WNBA in scoring last year. The Storm was caught off-guard by this Game 2 development. They'll be ready this time around.

Seattle led the WNBA in free throw percentage and 3-point shooting while averaging 82.5 points a game during the regular season. The Storm get back an important player, too. Gabby Williams is expected to play after missing the first two games of the series because of a concussion. She's the Storm's No. 3 scorer at 13 points a game.

The teams should have plenty of energy having been idle since Wednesday.

The White Sox are feeling pretty good about themselves after humiliating the Twins, 13-0, on Saturday. Dylan Cease nearly threw a no-hitter coming within one out of the feat. It was a highly emotional victory for the White Sox because of Cease's great effort.

Kudos to Cease for his outstanding effort and tremendous season. But the Twins aren't facing Cease today. They draw Lucas Giolito, who has been one of the more disappointing pitchers this season with a 5.27 ERA. The White Sox are without a number of key batters, including Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada. It remains to be seen if Luis Robert will return to the lineup. He's been in Florida for the birth of his second child.

The Twins are going with Dylan Bundy, who runs hot and cold. Bundy, though, has dominated the White Sox with a 6-0 career record. He's 2-0 versus the White Sox this season with a 2.35 ERA in three starts.

Giolito is in terrible form with a 7.98 ERA in his last three starts.

Both teams haven't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball. The Astros are averaging 2.8 runs in their last six games. The Angels haven't scored more than four runs in 12 of their last 14 games. They rank among the bottom-six teams in runs, batting average and OPS.

I don't see too many runs being scored here either in a pitching matchup of Shohei Ohtani versus Luis Garcia.

Ohtani is 11-8 with a 2.67 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 128 innings. He's 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA against the Astros this season. He probably won't have to face Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who didn't play last night due to a lingering hand injury.

Garcia is a middle-of-the-road type starter. He has a 3.61 career ERA against the Angels in nine outings, including seven starts. He has a 3.09 ERA in two starts versus the Angels this season. Garcia is backed by the best bullpen in the majors as Houston has the lowest bullpen ERA at 2.90.

This is far more of a mismatch than this point spread indicates. Louisville has defeated Syracuse the past three times by an average of 30 points, including out-scoring the Orange, 71-3, during the last two meetings.

Louisville owns a monster edge at QB with Malik Cunningham, the top rushing QB in the ACC. Cunningham is protected by a very underrated offensive line.

Syracuse is forced to be one-dimensional on the ground with Sean Tucker because its QB, Garret Shrader, is terrible. Shrader is very inaccurate and he's not helped by a weak group of receivers. Tucker is excellent, but the Cardinals will be stacking the line against him.

The Orange haven't been able to turn the corner under Dino Babers with just 11 victories during the past three years.

These are two-high scoring teams with plenty of returning firepower.

Houston averaged nearly 36 points a game last season. Back for the Cougars are QB Clayton Tune, who completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,544 yards and threw 30 TD's, and his leading receiver, Nathaniel Dell. 

Texas San Antonio averaged 36.9 points last season and return QB Frank Harris, who completed 66.1 percent of his throws for 3,177 yards with 27 TD passes. He also rushed for 566 yards and had six TD's on the ground. He faces a Cougars secondary that lost their two best cornerbacks. 

The Roadrunners also have back seven other offensive starters, including their top four receivers and four offensive linemen. Their losses were on defense where only five starters are back. 

Yes Georgia lost a ton of talent from its defense. That defense gave up a modern-day record 6.9 points per game. The Bulldogs, though, just reload. Don't kid yourself, Georgia's defense still is dominant. 

Dan Lanning was Georgia's co-defensive coordinator the past three years. Now he happens to be the head coach of Oregon. So he knows the Bulldogs well. Oregon has some outstanding defensive talent, too. 

Neither team's quarterback is dynamic. Georgia's Stetson Bennett is steady rather than spectacular while Oregon QB Bo Nix did nothing as a three-year starter at Auburn. The Bulldogs are familiar with Nix, too. 

The Ducks are learning a new offense and Georgia plays at a slow tempo. These are two more pluses for the Under. 

Ottawa has covered during each of its last NINE visits to Montreal. That's a strong historical trend. But there is much more as to why I like the underdog Redblacks to cover if not win straight-up.

Two well-below average offenses facing two young below-the-radar pitchers is a winning Under combination. That's what we have in this A's-Orioles matchup.

An up-tempo, fast-pace style featuring exciting playmakers and vulnerable defenses should result in more than enough points to get this Over the total.

Let's begin with Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs are going to play faster under new coach Sonny Cumbie, who loves to pass. The Bulldogs should score their share of points against a vulnerable Missouri defense that has plenty of questions in its secondary. Louisiana Tech's offensive strengths is its passing attack and a much improved offensive line.

Brady Cook won Missouri's starting QB position. He's well versed in the Tigers' attack and has some outstanding wide receiving weapons. The Tigers shouldn't encounter much resistance from a weak Louisiana Tech defense that ranked 106th in total defense and 114th in scoring defense giving up 34 points per game last year.

The defending WNBA champion Sky understand how crucial winning Game 2 of this semifinal series against the Sun is after getting upset at home by Connecticut in Game 1. Teams leading the best-of-five playoff series are 15-0 in WNBA history. In other words, no team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit. The Sky also realizes that Games 3 and 4 are in Connecticut. 

Chicago also was upset in its playoff opener at home last series losing to New York, 98-91. The Sky came back to smash the Liberty by 38 points in Game 2 at home. 
I understand the Sun are a level higher than the Liberty, who did well to even make the postseason. But until the Sun sprung that Game 1 upset, they had lost six in a row to the Sky. Those games were close, but the Sky still won those games by an average of 5.1 points, which is more than this spread. Connecticut is 2-5 ATS in its last seven visits to Chicago. 

The Sun are tough inside. They defeated the Wings in their previous playoff series despite making only 13 of 46 3-pointers. Connecticut was able to hurt Dallas inside. The Sky hold a backcourt edge and they have the bigs with Candace Parker and Emma Meesseman to combat Jonquel Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. 
It's extremely difficult for an underdog to win consecutive road playoff games. I don't see the Sun pulling that feat off in this game. 

The Nationals are the worst team in baseball. Oakland is playing better than Washington with three straight victories, including a 10-6 win in Tuesday's series opener.

The Nationals are 2-6 during their last eight games. They have scored three or fewer runs in nine of their last 11 games and are 26-66 in their last 92 home games for a win percentage of 28 percent.

The A's hold a starting pitching edge, too, in this matchup with James Kaprielian facing Anibal Sanchez.

Kaprielian has pitched much better the last two months than he did earlier in the season with a 3-3 record and 3.86 ERA during his last 10 starts. The 38-year-old Sanchez sure looks washed-up. He is 0-5 with a 5.72 ERA.

When the worst team in the majors is chalk, I'm seriously looking at the underdog even if that team is the A's. On closer examination, Oakland should not be the underdog. The A's have fared better on the road and are playing much better than Washington right now.

Oakland is 5-4 in its last nine games. Oakland's last two games were victories against the Yankees. The Nationals are 2-5 in their last seven games. They have scored three or fewer runs in nine of their last 10 games.

The A's have the superior starting pitcher going, too, in a matchup of Cole Irvin versus Erick Fedde.

Irvin is 6-11 with a 3.16 ERA. He has a 2.71 ERA in night games and is coming off a brilliant start against the Marlins this past Wednesday throwing seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out 11.

Fedde is 5-8 with a 4.88 ERA, which climbs to 5.70 when he pitches at night. This is only his second August appearance after coming off the injured list last week.

On the surface this seems like a spot to back the underdog Angels. After all, they just swept three games from the Blue Jays in Toronto while the Yankees dropped their second straight game to the lowly A's in Oakland on Sunday.

But I don't see it that way. Instead I see this as a kill spot for the Yankees. So I'm taking them on the run line, eliminating the heavy juice that comes with backing the much superior Yankees.

Not only do the Yankees possess a huge offensive advantage, but they have the better starting pitcher going and a strong situational edge. The Angels just concluded a 10-game road trip that took them to Detroit, Tampa Bay and Toronto. They had to make the 5 1/2-hour flight back to Southern California on Sunday night while the Yankees just had a short flight from Oakland to Los Angeles already being on the West Coast .

Keep in mind, too, that the Angels had lost nine of 10 before sweeping the Blue Jays. The Yankees had gotten back in a groove winning five in a row before losing to Oakland on Saturday and Sunday.

Frankie Montas goes against lefty Jose Suarez. Montas is a good pitcher. He started slow when he was dealt to the Yankees but looked back to normal in his last start holding the Mets to two runs in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts.

Suarez has a 4.19 ERA compared to Montas' 3.84 ERA. Suarez's ERA climbs to 4.81 when pitching at home. Suarez has fattened his record and stats facing the weak-hitting A's twice and Royals once during his last five starts giving up no earned runs in those three appearances spanning 17 1/3 innings.

Suarez is facing a Yankees squad that is first in homers and second in runs. Not exactly the A' and Royals. The Yankees are 40-18 in their last 58 games against a southpaw starter. New York also has beaten the Angels seven of the last 10 times on the road.

The Sun have covered in their last seven road games. They are a blistering 13-3 (81%) ATS in their past 16 games. I'm backing the Sun to cover - if not upset - Chicago on the road in this opening WNBA semifinal series. 

Cleveland defeated the Mariners in Seattle for the first time in six games Saturday night. The Mariners' bullpen let them down in that loss.

Look for the Mariners to bounce back today in a pitching matchup of Aaron Civale against Robbie Ray.

Civale has yet to fulfill his promise. He's 2-5 with a 5.37 ERA. That ERA shoots up to 6.56 on the road.

Ray isn't having the Cy Young Award season he had in 2021, but he's in excellent current form with a 2.37 ERA in his last three games - all Seattle victories. The lefty is 5-3 with a 2.69 ERA when pitching at home this season. The Guardians rank 25th against lefties in batting average and are 29th in slugging percentage versus southpaws.

Seattle has been one of the hottest teams in the league during the second half of the season winning 40 of its last 59 games.

Rookie lefty starter Nick Lodolo is a work in progress taking his lumps as he learns his craft for the rebuilding Reds. He has a 4.35 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. Lodolo has hit a batter in 11 of his 12 big league starts. Cincinnati also has the highest bullpen ERA in the majors. The Nationals rank in the top 12 in batting average despite their terrible record and are seventh in OPS when going against left-handed pitching.

But those aren't the main reasons why I like this game to go Over at this number. Patrick Corbin is. He very well could be the worst starting pitcher in the league with a humiliating 4-17 record, 6.81 ERA and 1.81 WHIP.

The Nationals' bullpen is well below average, too, ranking 22nd in ERA. The Reds have scored at least five runs in six of their last eight games.

Jerry Kill is New Mexico State's new head coach. We know Kill's style - run the ball, take time off the clock and play for field position. Kill inherits an inexperienced offense full of new starters.

Nevada's new coach, Ken Wilson, holds the same cards with his offense - just about all new players. The Wolf Pack lost all of their talented skill position players from last year. Wilson is more run-oriented, too, than the man he replaced, Jay Norvell. Wilson also is dealing with an inexperienced offensive line.

New Mexico State returns eight defensive starters. The Aggies have decent linebackers. Given the new makeup of these teams with run-oriented coaches, I see fewer points being produced than the oddsmaker envisioned.

It's not very often - if ever - I land on the Over when the Tigers are involved. But I'll make an exception here in a pitching matchup of Eduardo Rodriguez versus Dallas Keuchel.

Rodriguez has been anything but reliable. He's been on and off Detroit's roster going through a tumultuous season. Rodriguez's road ERA is 5.30. The Rangers rank 10th in runs scored. Detroit's bullpen has regressed as the innings have piled up.

The Rangers are likely to find out first-hand what the White Sox and Diamondbacks learned the hard way this year - Keuchel is washed-up. Keuchel compiled a 2-7 record and 8.53 ERA pitching for the White Sox and Arizona this season before those teams wised up and released him.

Even when he was good, Keuchel had trouble with the Rangers posting a 4.98 ERA in 15 appearances, including 13 starts.

Charlotte and Florida Atlantic are a pair of middle-of-the-road Conference USA teams whose offenses should be ahead of their defenses for this opener. 

Charlotte has one of the better QB's in the conference, Chris Reynolds. He's one of eight returning offensive starters for the 49ers. Reynolds is the school's all-time passing leader with 7,726 yards. He set school records with 2,684 passing yards and 26 TD throws last season. Florida Atlantic is breaking in new cornerbacks and has an unproven pass rush. 

The Owls scored 38 points on Charlotte in last year's game. They have a dual threat QB in N'Kosi Perry. The Owls have back their two top receivers, LaJohntay Wester and Je'Quan Burton. Johnny Ford gives Florida Atlantic the best running back on the field. 

Illinois' defense showed great improvement last year holding opponents to 21.9 points per game after giving up 34.9 points a game in 2020. The Illini ranked 31st in scoring defense - down from 97th of two seasons ago - while holding nine of their 12 opponents below their season scoring average. 

Look for the Illini to shut down Wyoming, which was hammered with skill position players transferring. The list of lost players includes their two top QB's along with wide receivers Isaiah Neyor and Xazavian Valladay. 

The point spread key is if Illinois has enough offense to cover a double-digit point spread. I believe they do. The ground game is there with Chase Brown, the best skill position player on either side and one of the better running backs in the Big Ten. The Illini also upgraded their passing attack with Tommy DeVito, formerly of Syracuse. DeVito isn't a star, but he's more of a downfield threat than what the Illini had. He can effectively pick his spots against a Cowboys secondary that lost all four of their starters. 

Wyoming hasn't defeated a Power Five program on the road in 17 years. Don't look for that streak to end here. 

The Saints are 0-2 in preseason with both losses occurring on the road to the Texans. 17-13, and to the Packers, 20-10. Jameis Winston hasn't seen the field yet. Backup QB Andy Dalton has thrown five passes. It has been third-stringer Ian Book, who has played nearly all the time behind center. Book is a stiff. 

Look for Winston to get some game time with the veteran Dalton seeing most of the action against the Chargers. The Saints have a strong defense and excellent depth. Chargers coach Brandon Staley has followed his mentor, Sean McVay, in not caring about preseason games. There's no reason for Staley to play his regulars here. Dalton should do well facing the Chargers' backups. 

Hamilton is the road team, but taking points with the Tiger-Cats is a bonus. I see Hamilton as the better team with the return of QB Dane Evans. He didn't play in Hamilton's last two games because of a shoulder injury. Evans had the second-most passing yardage in the CFL this season behind only BC QB Nathan Rourke. 

The Yankees are extremely home run-reliant. That's why they can get into trouble when playing in spacious West Coast parks such as the Oakland Coliseum. Proof of that is in the record. New York has lost 23 of the past 32 times in Oakland.

This is just the Yankees' second West Coast trip of the season. They dropped two of three to Seattle during their previous West Coast stay. The Yankees are 2-9 in their past 11 overall road games.

Oakland starter James Kaprielian has a 4.29 ERA. But he's pitched much better lately holding four of his last five opponents to two earned runs or fewer. The Yankees haven't been mashing like they were earlier. New York has been held to four runs or less in 13 of their last 14 games.

Jameson Taillon gets the start for the Yankees. Unlike Kaprielian, he's not in good form surrendering 15 earned runs in his last four starts spanning 23 2/3 innings. He has a 6.75 ERA against the A's during three career starts.

The two teams met July 30 in Calgary. There were 63 points scored in that game with Winnipeg winning, 35-28. That's the most points the Blue Bombers have allowed all season.

The Stampeders have the offense to produce points like that even with the QB change to Jake Maier. This is Maier's opportunity after he completed 14 of 18 passes for 156 yards to lead Calgary to a come-from-behind road victory against Toronto last week. The Stampeders rank No. 2 in the CFL in scoring at 29.8 points. They lead the league in rushing. So Maier has ground support.

The Blue Bombers are the third-highest scoring team in the CFL at 26.7 points. They were idle last week so they should have plenty of energy and a strong offensive game plan.

No Aaron Rodgers here. Understood. The tradeoff is this low total. If Patrick Mahomes plays then it's way too low of a total. Mahomes has played three series in Kansas City's two preseason games. He led the Chiefs to a touchdown in all three drives.

Andy Reid hasn't ruled Mahomes out. Mahomes played in the Chiefs' final preseason game last year. He was 8-for-9 for 117 yards and two TD's. The Chiefs beat the Vikings, 28-25, in that game. Kansas City won't play again for 16 days following this game. So I'd be surprised if Reid didn't give Mahomes at least a couple of series. Green Bay's defense has improved. However, it's not at the level where it can stop Mahomes.

Even if Mahomes doesn't play, the Chiefs need to establish who their backup QB is, Shane Buechele or Dustin Crum. They also have to get their ground attack going. So I don't see the Chiefs being vanilla here. They have great schemes and methods of attack no matter who is playing. The Packers also have proven vulnerable on special teams. One special teams slip-up can push a total this low to go Over.

The Packers should do their part in the scoring department. Jordan Love has much to prove whether Matt LaFleur wants to admit it or not. The Chiefs ranked 29th in sacks last year. Love should get another extended look. Green Bay doesn't have a superstar wide receiver anymore. But the Packers have good receiving depth and loads of competition. That should ensure a lot of passing.

Third-string Packers QB Danny Etling has played better than expected. He has mobility with the ability to make a big gain out of a busted play. That's a huge trait especially in preseason where there are more busted plays.

This is the third and deciding game in this playoff series. The Sun are at least one level higher than the Wings. Perhaps they got overconfident, though, after they buried Dallas, 93-68, in Game 1. The Wings came back to upset the Sun, 89-79, this past Sunday. Both of those games were in Connecticut.

That was the Wings' first playoff victory since 2009. Now Dallas is likely to get back Arike Ogunbowale, its leading scorer. The Wings are the home team here.

Things are looking up for the Wings, right?

Perhaps. But I don't see the Wings upsetting the Sun again in this winner-take-all matchup. Connecticut has more talent, deeper bench and big-game playoff experience. Ogunbowale has missed eight of Dallas' last nine games. So she could be rusty. The Wings did fine without her to make the playoffs.

Connecticut is looking to reach the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. Dallas has one playoff victory in the last 13 years. The Sun had the second-best road record in the league at 12-6. The Wings have a losing home mark. The Sun also have covered their past six away contests and are 5-2 ATS the last seven times they've played in Dallas.

The Rockies are Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde when it comes to their home/road splits. Colorado is 35-31 at Coors Field and 18-39 away from home. The Rockies have the highest home batting average in the majors at .285. That's 20 points better than the next closest team. Colorado also is No. 1 at home in OPS and No. 2 in slugging percentage.

So I find this lay price cheap to back the Rockies against the Rangers at Coors in a pitching matchup of Dane Dunning versus German Marquez. 
Texas, 10 games below .500, nipped the Twins, 2-1, on the road Monday. Colorado was idle on Monday. So the Rockies have a fresh bullpen. 

Dunning is 3-6 with a 4.06 ERA. He's 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA during his last three starts. Note, though, those outings were against weak-hitting teams the A's, Mariners and White Sox. All of them were home, too. Dunning has been much worse on the road where he's 0-5 with a 5.08 ERA. 

Marquez is 6-10 with a 5.05 ERA. Marquez, however, has been pitching better lately giving up two earned runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts He's gone six or more innings in each of his last eight starts. Marquez has a 2.92 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in four career starts against Texas. 

This total is priced too low in a pitching matchup of lefties Tucker Davidson versus Jeffrey Springs. 

Davison is 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA. He's made two starts this season and his ERA is 7.20 in those outings. The Rays rank ninth in batting average against lefthanded pitching.

Springs is having a good season going 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA. But he's not some ace and has a bad history against the Angels with a 1-2 record and 5.51 ERA. Mike Trout is back playing for the Angels upgrading their offense tremendously. 

This is Monday's lone day contest. It's also a rare stand alone game for these two teams. The White Sox were rained out at Cleveland on Sunday. Chicago will have a rested bullpen. The White Sox begin a three-game road series against the Orioles on Tuesday. The Royals host the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. So this is a weird scheduling spot, which I consider a plus for the Under.

The White Sox are averaging 3.1 runs in their last six games. They have scored four or fewer runs in 14 of their last 18 games.

The Royals have a bottom-six offense and are mired in a huge scoring slump. Kansas City is averaging two runs per game during its last 10 games. The Royals haven't scored more than four runs in any of these past 10 games.

The starting pitchers - Daniel Lynch and Michael Kopech - are good enough to take advantage of bad offenses. They faced each other three weeks ago. The Royals won, 2-1. Lynch didn't allow a run in 5 1/3 innings. Kopech gave up only two runs in seven innings.

Lynch has pitched better lately than his 4.52 season ERA. He's held five of his last eight opponents to two earned runs or fewer. Kopech has a 2.77 day time ERA. He's at his best against bad offenses. That was evident two starts ago against the Tigers. Kopech shut out the Tigers for six innings, not giving up a hit while striking out 11 with three walks.

The game is at Kauffman Stadium, which is favorable to pitcher's. There's a slight wind blowing in too, at around 5-6 mph.

Baseball players are creatures of habit. But for the Red Sox and Orioles their routine is very different Sunday. They are competing in what has become the annual Little League Classic. ESPN televises this game from Williamsport, Pa., home of the Little League World Series.

Even though it's a 7 p.m. ET start, the players don't get their normal rest coming to Williamsport from Baltimore, which is about a three-hour drive. They must get up early in the morning and go right to the ballpark. That's part of the deal with this game is that the day is spent with the big league teams interacting with kids. That throws off the normal pre-game routine and zaps some strength. Light rain is in the forecast, too, which is a distraction for hitters.

This will be the fifth Little League Classic. Four of them have gone Under the total.

The pitching matchup is Nick Pivetta, 9-9 with a 4.28 ERA, versus Dean Kremer, 5-4, 3.58 ERA. Pivetta runs hot-and-cold. Kremer hasn't had good success against the Red Sox in three starts. This is the first time Kremer is facing Boston, though, in a neutral setting.

Several players could miss the game. Tommy Pham didn't play Saturday because of lower back tightness. Eric Hosmer left Saturday's game with back spasms. Cedric Mullins didn't play either. He's dealing with a sore shin.

Rarely will a team sweep a series. That's especially true with the Angels, who are 15 games below .500. They edged the Tigers, 1-0, on Friday behind a four-hitter from Patrick Sandoval. The Angels are likely to win Sunday when Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for them.

Before that matchup we have this game pitting Reid Detmers against Tyler Alexander. Both pitchers have identical 4-3 records and 3.45 ERA's. The Tigers have the eighth-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors. The Angels rank 20th in bullpen ERA.

I say the underdog Tigers get this middle game with scheduling a key factor. The Angels hadn't been away from the West Coast all month until Thursday when they flew into Detroit. They were OK for a Friday night game. However, this is a day game and an extremely early start for Los Angeles. The body clock of the Angels players is bound to be messed up. So there is more than meets the eye in this matchup making the underdog attractive.

The teams have been conducting joint practices and the Packers' defense has been getting the better of things, according to multiple reports. Jordan Love has much to prove in this game. So does the Packers wide receiving corps. 

Saints coach Dennis Allen has never won a preseason road game as a head coach going 0-7, including 1-6 ATS. New Orleans doesn't put a premium on preseason games. The Saints are 7-14 SU, 6-15 ATS in preseason since 2015. The Saints aren't putting emphasis on this game either. 

The Saints aren't going to play many starters here. The few they do won't play long, perhaps a series or two. Jameis Winston is nursing a slight foot injury. He won't play. New Orleans' backup QB's are Andy Dalton and Ian Book, a stiff who figures to draw most of the minutes. 

The Saints' third and fourth-stringers didn't look good in a 17-13 loss to the Texans last week. The Packers are likely to leave some of their starters and second-stringers in longer than the Saints. Green Bay is home and cares more about winning this game than New Orleans does.  

While I don't expect the White Sox to give up 21 runs and 25 hits like they did to the Astros Thursday night, I do expect enough scoring for this game to go Over the total.

The Guardians are averaging 5.4 runs in their last five games. They draw Lance Lynn, who has been a major disappointment this season. Lynn has been at his worst on the road where he's 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in five away starts. He's nothing more than an innings-eater at this stage of his career - and not a very good one either.

The White Sox face Triston McKenzie, who is a good pitcher but has several factors working against him here. McKenzie has a 4.62 night ERA and is 0-2 with a 7.28 ERA and 1.41 WHIP career-wise against the White Sox in 29 2/3 innings. The White Sox have scored four or more runs in five of their last six games.

Edmonton and Ottawa are the two worst teams in the CFL. This should be a loose game featuring two mobile quarterbacks - Taylor Cornelius and probably Caleb Evans of the Redblacks. Evans played poorly against Calgary in Ottawa's last game. But he led the Redblacks to a victory against Toronto two games ago while being named CFL Top Performer for that week.

Ottawa ranks No. 2 in the CFL in total yardage yet averages only 19.8 points. Expect that to change here as Edmonton has the worst defense in the league. The Elks are giving up a whopping 36 points per game in nine games. So the Redblacks should finally produce points no matter if Evans or Nick Arubuckle, a former Elk player, should start.

Cornelius should be in line for a big game on the ground as Ottawa ranks third-from-the bottom in run defense. He has a top wide receiver in Kenny Lawler, who is tied for the most receptions in the CFL.

The teams met three times during the regular season. The combined score never exceeded 159 in any of the games. Now we're into the playoffs where defense and intensity goes way up.

The Mystic have held their last 11 opponents to have an average of 74 points a game.

The Storm have held their opponents to fewer than 80 points in 18 of their last 22 games. Seattle may catch a defensive break, too, as Washington's third-leading scorer, Natasha Cloud, injured her knee in Sunday's regular-season finale and isn't likely to be 100 percent.

The Bears' terrible offensive line has been made worse by a cluster injury problem. Bears coach Matt Eberflus can't risk Justin Fields, or any other Chicago offensive starter getting hurt. So the Bears starters are projected to only play one or two series. That means a lot of Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman playing with a heavy dose of third-stringers. This isn't a recipe for a lot of Chicago scoring. The Seahawks will be fired up defensively after a terrible tackling game in their preseason opener against the Steelers. Pete Carroll stressed the Seahawks need to clean up their act on defense.

Geno Smith appears to have won the Seahawks' starting QB spot. He's been in a battle with Drew Lock, who tested positive for COVID-19 and has been ruled out of this game. Smith is likely to start, but third-string QB Jacob Eason is expected to play most of the game.

Don't expect much from Eason. He didn't play against the Steelers last week as Smith and Lock battled it out. Eason has received limited reps in camp. The Seahawks have a bad offensive line and they have multiple wide receiver injuries. Also promising rookie running back Kenneth Walker III is out with a hernia injury.

The defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky host the New York Liberty in this opening playoff game. There's a big class difference between the 26-10 Sky and 16-20 Liberty. The key question is the gap enough for the Sky to cover this number? 

I say it is. 

The Liberty did well to get into the playoffs. They accomplished the task by winning six of their last eight games. But none of these games was against any of the top five teams in the league. There's a dropoff from the top five teams - Sky, Aces, Sun, Storm and Mystics - to the rest of the league.  

Chicago has a huge edge inside. The Sky led the WNBA with an average of 42.1 points in the paint. The Liberty was last in that category, averaging 31.2 points. Candace Parker and Emma Meesseman give the Sky a strong inside presence. Chicago finished No. 1 in the league in field goal percentage. The Sky also have much better depth and bench strength than New York. 

The Liberty is highly reliant on star guard Sabrina Ionescu. But she can go hot and cold. New York ranked third-from-the-bottom in scoring. The Liberty did well to reach the postseason. But they aren't going to advance out of the first round. 

This is a rare weekday afternoon home start for the Angels. That means hitters are going to have it rough later in the day when shadows fall as they do at Angel Stadium. Both teams are well below average offensively. The Mariners rank 23rd in runs and 25th in batting average. The Angels are worse, ranking 25th in batting average and 27th in runs. The Angels are averaging 2.6 runs in their last five games.

I like Seattle rookie starter George Kirby, who is 4-3 with a 3.39 ERA. He hasn't given up more than two earned runs during his last six starts. He has a 2.25 ERA in two starts against the Angels. He held the Angels to one run on six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and no walks when he faced them 11 days ago.

Angels starter Touki Toussaint is more of a wild-card. He's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA, though, and is coming off a strong start against the A's last Wednesday holding Oakland scoreless in five innings while allowing just two hits.

The gift that keeps giving is back. Stuck with a huge contract they gave to Patrick Corbin four years ago, the Nationals keep trotting him out. Never mind that Corbin has become the worst pitcher in the National League if not all of baseball. 

There have been at least nine runs scored in nine of Patrick Corbin's last 13 starts. It's not a coincidence that these games have been high-scoring. Corbin has gone from bad where he had a 5.82 ERA last season to a total disaster this year with a 4-16 record, 7.02 ERA and 1.82 WHIP.  The Cubs have scored 35 runs in their last seven games, an average of five runs per game. They have a number of promising hitters who can take advantage of Corbin's total ineffectiveness.  The Nationals can do their part to get this game Over the total facing lefty Justin Steele, who has a 1.41 WHIP. The Nationals have the sixth-highest batting average in the National League against lefty pitchers.  Both teams are well below average defensively and each team's bullpen ranks in the bottom-10 in bullpen ERA.  The Over has cashed 10 of the last 13 times when the teams have played in Washington. 

The Under hasn't won the last seven times the Blue Jays have hosted the Orioles. I don't see that streak ending here in a pitching matchup of Kyle Bradish versus Yusei Kikuchi.

Baltimore has some underrated pitchers. Bradish isn't one of them. He has a 6.42 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. The Blue Jays have seen him twice this season getting to him for 14 hits in 9 2/3 innings. Bradish has a 7.45 ERA against them. The Orioles' bullpen got worse during the trade deadline when closer Jorge Lopez was traded. 

Toronto is due to breakout after being held to only four runs against the Guardians during a three-game series going against Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill. Bradish is way beneath those starters. The Blue Jays have the second-highest batting average in baseball, rank fifth in runs and seventh in homers. 

The Orioles get to see Kikuchi for the third time this season. He is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts against Baltimore this year, including getting battered for five earned runs in five innings last Monday. The Orioles smacked three homers against him in that 7-4 victory. 

The Mariners haven't scored more than four runs in seven of their last nine games. The Rangers have scored three runs or fewer in eight of their last 12 games. Both teams face strong starters in this matchup.

Logan Gilbert is 10-5 with a 3.47 ERA for Seattle. Gilbert has been better on the road where he's 6-1 with a 3.01 ERA. He also has a 3.05 ERA when pitching during the day.

Perez is having a career year with a 9-3 mark and 2.85 ERA. That fine ERA shrinks to 2.70 when Perez pitches at home.

Both pitchers will be helped by the wind blowing in at around eight miles per hour.

The Liberty defeated the Dream, 80-70, on the road two days ago. Now the Liberty gets to host the Dream with a playoff berth on the line. A New York victory clinches a playoff spot for the Liberty while eliminating Atlanta. 

I see New York accomplishing that. The point spread is low enough to back the Liberty on the money line. 

The Liberty have a stronger talent base with stars Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Howard. New York also has been playing much better than Atlanta. The Liberty are 5-2 in their last seven games. Their starting lineup and depth is improved with the return of Betnijah Laney from a knee injury. She scored a season-high 17 points against the Dream this past Friday.

The Dream are 2-7 SU, 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games. They have lost three in a row, all by seven or more points. 

Atlanta has been short-handed due to injuries and leading-scorer Tiffany Hayes leaving the team to play in a tournament in Turkey. 

The Dodgers are cooking. They've won 11 in a row - all by more than one run. LA has scored seven or more runs in eight of its last 11 games. The Royals are 20 games below .500. So I'm on board to ride this Dodgers' string today in a pitching matchup of Andrew Heaney versus Brad Keller. 

One of the biggest factors in betting preseason totals is quarterback rotation. The Panthers are one of the few teams with a starting QB battle. They also have a deep QB rotation with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and promising rookie Matt Corral. 

The Panthers need preseason to get Mayfield up to speed in their system. So the Panthers shouldn't be vanilla like many teams are in preseason, especially in their preseason opener. Carolina also needs to see what Corral can do. These QB's could all shine against a vanilla defense full of scrubs. 

Washington has one of the better backup QB's in Taylor Heinecke. Sam Howell is an exciting rookie QB, who could fare well playing against backups. 

Even though it's a preseason game, Commanders coach Ron Rivera could have motivation having coached the Panthers before coming to Washington for nine years from 2011-2019. The combined average total of Week 1 preseason games under Rivera for the past nine times is 41.5 points. 

The Mercury is a home underdog to Dallas. A big reason for this is Phoenix will be without its best player, guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, due to personal reasons. But the situation trumps this development. The Mercury are in a four-way tie for the final two playoff spots. This is their second to last game. They close the regular season against the much tougher defending WNBA champion Sky. This game means nothing to Dallas. The Wings have clinched the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. They are locked into that playoff seeding.

So the game means nothing to Dallas. But do the Mercury still have enough talent to beat even a disinterested Wings squad without Diggins-Smith and injured Diana Taurasi? Yes. They have outstanding guards even minus Diggins-Smith with Diamond DeShields, Shey Peddy and Sophie Cunningham, perhaps the most improved player in the league. The Mercury showed that when they defeated the Liberty, another playoff contender, by 10 points at home this past Saturday without Diggins-Smith and Taurasi.

Phoenix is 10-6 at home this season. Dallas is without a key player, too, as its leading scorer, Arike Ogunbowale, is out with a hip injury.

The announcement that Deshaun Watson is going to start has caused a switch of favorites in this game. Cleveland is now road chalk. The marketplace has this wrong. The Jaguars should win this game. 

The Jaguars laid an egg against the Raiders in the Hall of Fame game. But now the Jaguars have played a game and are home here. Those are key situational edges. Watson hasn't played since January of 2021. He's learning a new offense and isn't likely to play very long. The Browns are run-oriented. However, their two best running backs - Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt - are not expected to play. 

Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson has more of a sense of urgency than Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. The Jaguars fell behind the Raiders, 20-0, at halftime. Keep in mind, the Jaguars didn't play their top two QB's, Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard, against Las Vegas.

Peterson is going to play a lot of starters here. Lawrence, Travis Etienne and the rest of Jacksonville's first-string offense will get at least a couple of series. Lawrence has looked good in training camp. So has Etienne. The Jaguars upgraded their wide receiving corps. Lawrence needs game time work with them. This is that opportunity. There will be many defensive starters playing, too, for Jacksonville. The Jaguars outscored the Raiders, 11-7, in the second half. Jacksonville had five sacks against Las Vegas. 

I would rather have Beathard than either of the Browns' third and fourth-string QB's, Josh Dobbs and Josh Rosen. Those two figure to see the bulk of action for Cleveland.

Far be it for me to question Bill Belichick's football decisions. I rank Belichick among the top-five NFL coaches of all-time with Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh, Paul Brown and Don Shula. But facts are facts and right now the Patriots' rebooted offense is in disarray following the departure of ace offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Raiders.

McDaniels ran Belichick's power-ground game offense for a decade. McDaniels has been replaced by Matt Patricia with heavy input from Joe Judge. These two failed head coaches didn't make their reputations on offense. Patricia was Belichick's top defensive assistant coach before his failed stint with the Lions, while Judge excelled as a special teams coach. The Giants were a disaster offensively under Judge.

Nothing has clicked so far offensive-wise in the Patriots' training camp. The ground game has yet to get going with the change to more of a zone-block type of scheme, wide receivers haven't been getting open and none of New England's QB's - Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe - have looked good. The offensive line has been distressingly bad making the transition. The quarterbacks have been under constant pressure during drills and scrimmages.

Yes, it's extremely early in the season and defenses usually are ahead of offenses at this stage. But this is an extremely early game and the Patriots have looked beyond bad offensively, according to multiple camp reports.

New Giants coach Brian Daboll wants to make an immediate good impression. So he won't be holding back any healthy starters. They may not play long, but Daboll is willing to put them in for at least a series or two.

This is a pivotal year for Daniel Jones. The Giants have a good QB preseason rotation with Tyrod Taylor and Davis Webb backing up Jones. New York has plenty of explosive weapons for its quarterbacks along with an improved offensive line and what should be a monster upgrade in coaching from Judge to the highly thought of Daboll.

Daboll was the architect behind Buffalo's offensive prowess. The Bills were 7-0 SU and ATS during the last two preseasons. Fair to say Daboll is putting more emphasis and has higher expectations on this game than Belichick.

Way under the radar, Mitch Keller is pitching the best ball of his career. The season numbers show a 3-8 record and 4.21 ERA. But Keller has been pitching great during his last five starts giving up just six earned runs during this 31-inning span. 

If given 1 1/2 runs, Pittsburgh would be 7-2 in Keller's last nine starts. One of those losses was 2-0 to the Rockies at Coors Field. 

Arizona is pitching Madison Bumgarner, who is on the downside of his career. He's 6-10 with a 3.96 ERA. Bumgarner has surrendered 14 earned runs in 24 2/3 innings during his last four starts allowing 30 hits and eight walks. He's given up a home run in four of his last five starts. 

The Aces got back on track this past Sunday upsetting Seattle on the road, 89-81. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon made a key adjustment starting center Kiah Stokes. That gave the Aces more size and rebounding.

Las Vegas has covered 10 of the last 14 times it has hosted Atlanta. However, the last time the Dream played in Las Vegas, which was on July 19, they upset the Aces, 92-76.

The Aces are in a good spot to exact revenge. The Dream are playing for the fourth time in six days. They just played in Minnesota two days ago. WNBA teams fly commercial, so six games in four days is an extremely tough grind. Making matters worse for the Dream is they are short-handed. They were only able to use eight players in their 10-point loss to the Lynx this past Sunday.

One of Atlanta's missing players against the Lynx was Tiffany Hayes. She is the Dream's leading scorer. Her status is up in the air due to an ankle injury. Atlanta is 0-6-1 ATS in its last seven games.

The forecast is for the wind to be blowing out 13 mph. So that's a definite plus for the Over. So are the Mets getting to face a rusty starter, who isn't likely to pitch very many innings, and a Reds bullpen that has the highest ERA in the majors and gives up the second-most home runs.

Cincinnati just placed Hunter Greene on IL. The Reds dealt Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle at last week's traded deadline. So who's left to start now? The Reds have come up with Justin Dunn, who hasn't pitched since June 17 because of a sore right shoulder. The Reds are likely to be careful with Dunn. That should mean a lot of innings from a Reds bullpen that has the worst ERA in the majors by far at 5.04.

The Mets rank fourth in runs and batting average. They fortified their hitting depth at the trade deadline picking up Tyler Naquin, Daniel Vogelbach and Darrin Ruff.

The Reds will be facing Chris Bassitt, who has a 3.61 ERA. Bassitt has been a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. But he's not Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer.

Even adding Juan Soto and Josh Bell, the Padres still aren't as good as the Dodgers. LA has beaten San Diego 16 of the past 18 times. This includes the first two games of this series by a 16-4 margin. I don't see things being any different in this series finale pitting Yu Darvish against lefty Tyler Anderson. 

The Dodgers are a blazing 14-3 since All-Star break. They have the best record in baseball at 74-33. 

Darvish hasn't been nearly as effective on the road as he has at Petco Park with a 4.50 away ERA compared to a 2.17 ERA at home. The Padres are 5-5 in his road starts. 
Anderson has been fantastic this season going 12-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

The Padres are a below average hitting team against lefties. They rank 20th in OPS versus southpaws and 23rd in slugging percentage. 

Out of gas and out of motivation, the Sparks should be no match for Washington. Los Angeles realizes its playoff goal is not going to be met. The Sparks' postseason hopes have realistically been dashed with a six-game losing streak, the latest coming in heart-breaking fashion. That was an 88-86 road loss to Atlanta on Friday where a Sparks' game-tying basketball came just after time expired.

That loss was mentally draining for the Sparks. I don't see them getting right to put forth much of an effort in this mismatch. The Sparks are also physically drained. This is their fourth game in six days, fifth in eight days. The last four all have been away from home LA is 2-6 ATS following a loss. The Sparks have failed to cover in four of their last five visits to Washington D.C.

The Mystics are one of the five best teams in the WNBA. They are at least two levels higher than the Sparks. Washington defeated Las Vegas by 10 points at home this past Tuesday, but then played one of its worst games of the season in a double-digit road loss to the defending champion Sky on Friday. The Mystics rested their superstar, two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne, in that loss to Chicago. Delle Donne is expected to play against the Sparks.

The Mystics are 6-1 ATS the past seven times versus sub .500 opponents. Unlike the 12-20 Sparks, I see the Mystics being up for this home game. Given their talent and coaching edges that should mean an easy victory.

Indiana has lost 15 in a row. The Fever, though, has kept six of these last 10 losses to 10 or fewer points. Indiana should provide a full effort as it won't play again for the next six days.

But nearly this entire handicap is based on the situation Dallas finds itself in. The Wings defeated the Sky and Aces - two of the three best teams in the league - during the previous four days to upgrade their playoff position.

Now the Wings are dropping way down in class, while playing for the third time in six days.. I see a letdown occurring here. The Wings are average statistically. They play at the second-slowest pace in the league. I don't believe the Wings can cover this large of a number especially given the probable letdown factor.

The Nationals give up the most runs and have the highest ERA in the majors. Take a bow Patrick Corbin. He's one of the Nationals most responsible for that with a 4-15 record and 6.57 ERA.

It's a mystery that Corbin still remains in Washington's rotation after his last five starts. This is how bad Corbin has been during these past five outings - 21 innings pitched, 24 earned runs allowed, 39 hits, seven walks and five homers. The Phillies rank fifth in most home runs.

The Nationals can do their part, too, to push this total Over. They are averaging a respectable four runs a game during their last four games. Phillies starter Ranger Suarez has been much worse at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park where his record is 1-4 with a 4.54 ERA compared to 6-1 on the road with a 2.87 ERA.

The weather is a plus, too, for the Over with the wind blowing out at nine-10 mph.

The Diamondbacks are a respectable 27-27 playing at home. Colorado plays much worse on the road with a 17-34 away mark. 

I want the Sky, the best team in the WNBA, going for me after they were upset by the Wings in their last game this past Tuesday. 

The Mystics, on the other hand, are coming off a huge home victory against the Aces, the second-best team in the WNBA. 

The prideful defending champion Sky were extremely sloppy against Dallas. I'm expecting them to clean up their act going against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Chicago has covered 20 of the last 27 times versus above .500 opponents. 

The Mystics aid they will be resting Elena Delle Donne today. She's a superstar and the Mystics' best player leading them in scoring and rebounding.

Ottawa has a very misleading 1-6 record. The Redblacks have lost five games by a combined 21 points. They lost twice to powerful 8-0 Winnipeg by an average of 4.5 points. Calgary just played Winnipeg twice and lost by seven points in each game against the Blue Bombers.

The Redblacks have their confidence up after getting that much needed first win against Toronto this past Sunday. Caleb Evans was effective for the Redblacks completing 24-of-29 passes for 286 yards and two TD's against the Argonauts. Evans has steadily been improving.

Calgary could be without its star running back, Ka'Deem Carey because of a hamstring injury. Carey is the second-leading rusher in the CFL and is tied for the most running TD's with five.

Nick Pivetta can be very erratic. But the Red Sox still are worth backing at this price against a rebuilding Royals team starting lefty Kris Bubic.

Bubic is 2-6 with a 5.45 ERA. He has a 9.45 ERA in two appearances against Boston, including one start.

The Red Sox are 3-1 in their last four games beating the Brewers and Astros during this span. They clearly are stepping down in class here.

Boston got better at the trade deadline. The Red Sox are 13-4 the past 17 times facing a lefty starter.

The Royals have lost seven of their past nine games. They also are 2-7 the last nine times hosting Boston.

Johnny Cueto has been solid all season for the White Sox with a 2.86 ERA. He's been truly outstanding on the road with a 1.70 ERA. The price is right to back the White Sox and Cueto against the struggling Rangers, who are starting lefty Cole Ragans. This will be Ragans' big league debut.

The White Sox could be making their move. They've won four of their last five games. The Rangers are on a three-game losing streak having just gotten swept at home by the Orioles. The Rangers scored a combined seven runs in those three games.

Ragans has split his year between Double A and Triple A. The White Sox have the highest batting average against lefty pitching in the majors.

The Twins have an above average offense and a solid starter going in Sonny Gray. But they are trumped in both of these areas by the Blue Jays, who lead the majors in batting average, are third in runs scored and sixth in homers. They also have stud Alex Manoah on the mound.

Gray enters this month off a poor July where he posted a 5.92 ERA in five starts. Manoah is 11-5 with a 2.43 ERA. That ERA shrinks to 2.37 on the road. Minnesota is averaging 3.4 runs in its last four games.

Toronto is 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Twins are stepping up after hosting the Tigers for three games. Minnesota defeated Detroit, 4-1, on Wednesday. The Twins, though, have lost 22 of the past 28 (78 percent) times following a victory.

These are the two-lowest scoring teams in the WNBA. Indiana is playing the string out saddled with a 14-game losing streak. The Fever won't have Kelsey Mitchell, their lone offensive threat. She's out for the season with a foot injury. Mitchell was averaging 18.4 points. The Fever's next highest scorer averages 13.6 points. Indiana only has two players averaging in double figures now with Mitchell out.

The Fever have failed to reach 80 points in six of their last seven games. Atlanta is a respectable middle-of-the-road defensive team. The Under has cashed nine of the last 11 times Indiana has played on the road.

The Dream has failed to reach 80 points in six of their last nine games. The Under has cashed in 16 of their last 23 home games.

The teams last met on June 5 in Atlanta. There were only 141 points scored in that game.

Lance Lynn is a prime example of coming back too soon from an injury. The White Sox rushed Lynn back to the mound and he's been largely ineffective all season with a 1-4 record, 6.42 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Lynn has allowed at least four earned runs in four of his past five starts. He's surrendered six homers in his last starts spanning 16 innings. 

Brady Singer is one of the more underrated starters in the American League. His season marks are a 3.51 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Those are efficient numbers, but he's been in tremendous form allowing only two earned runs in his last three starts spanning 19 innings. That comes out to a 0.95 ERA. Singer has given up more than three earned runs only once during his last nine starts and that was four runs. 

The righthanded Singer has a 2.97 road ERA. The White Sox don't hit righties nearly as well as they do against lefties batting .280 versus southpaws and .251 against righties.

The Royals are a respectable 5-6 in their last 11 games. The White Sox are an underachieving 52-51 on the season. They are one of the few teams I give a negative handicapping check mark when it comes to the manager, due to the ineptitude of Tony La Russa. The game clearly has passed him by.

Seattle ranks 23rd in runs and 25th in batting average. And that's mainly factoring in emerging superstar Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners' best player, and Ty France, their lone .300 hitter. Those players are both out with wrist injuries. So it's not a coincidence Seattle is averaging 2.4 runs in its last five games.

I don't expect the Mariners to produce much against Jameson Taillon, who is backed by a Yankees bullpen that has the second-lowest ERA and just added Lou Trivino. Taillon is 10-2 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He just blanked another bad offense, the Royals, in six innings during his last start. That was a 1-0 victory this past Thursday. Taillon has been at his best at home with a 3.16 ERA.

The Mariners are throwing perhaps the most underrated pitcher in the American League, Logan Gilbert. He's 10-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 1.15 ratio. Gilbert is at his best on the road where he's 6-1 with a 2.47 ERA. The Mariners have committed the fewest errors in the league and rank fifth in bullpen ERA.

The Sparks are smaller and playing faster now that they no longer have Liz Cambage, their big center who slowed their attack down. The Liberty is giving up 83.8 points per game, which ranks eighth out of 12 teams.

New York is averaging 84.3 points in its last three games. The Liberty should exceed that as the Sparks have the second-worst defense in the WNBA.

The Over has cashed four of the last five times the teams have met in New York.

The Orioles have been the biggest money-maker this season for bettors. They are 16-7 in their last 23 games. That mark goes up to 21-4 in their last 25 games if given plus 1 1/2 runs, an 84 percent winning percentage.

Texas is 5-10 in its last 15 games.

So I'll ride the Orioles as they move on to Texas to face the Rangers in a pitching matchup of Spencer Watkins versus Jon Gray. Nothing against Gray, who has been pitching well for the Rangers. But Watkins is in good form with a 2.65 ERA in his last three starts and Baltimore holds a bullpen edge. Orioles relievers have a fourth-best ERA mark of 3.05 compared to the Rangers' bullpen ERA of 3.79.

Hard to believe Ottawa is 0-6. The Redblacks have only been out of one game. All but one of their losses was by more than seven points. Ottawa is improving each week and due for positive regression.

Ottawa QB Caleb Evans has been improving as he gets more comfortable running the Redblacks' offense with starter Jeremiah Masoli out. Jaelon Acklin has the second-most receiving yardage in the league and Richie Leone has the second-highest punting average in the CFL at 48.2. Those are key weapons for the Redblacks.

Toronto has taken advantage of some scheduling breaks to go 3-2. But the Argos are not impressive. They have been outscored by 25 points and are minus 8 in turnover ratio. Toronto's last two wins were both against Saskatchewan and in one of those contests the Roughriders were short-handed due to a COVID outbreak.

You have to go back nine games to last season to find the last time the Argos were favored by more than three points. They are 1-5 ATS the last six times they've been chalk.

Sure the White Sox have been a disappointment at 50-50 through their first 100 games. But the A's are the worst team in the American League at 39-64.

What the White Sox have going in this game is one of the most lopsided pitching matchups of the season - Adam Oller versus Dylan Cease.

Cease has become a dominant pitcher with a 10-4 record, 2.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He's tied for the third-most strikeouts in the AL. Cease hasn't permitted a run in his last 20 2/3 innings. He faces a pathetic A's attack that ranks last in batting average and OPS and is second-to-last in runs.

Oller could be the worst starter in the American League. Here are his numbers: 32 2/3 innings - 39 hits, 29 earned runs, 21 walks and nine homers allowed. That translates to a gory 8.07 ERA and 1.86 WHIP.

So, yeah, I expect the White Sox to win this game by multiple runs.

Phoenix is playing better winning three of its last four games. But all of those games were at home. The Mercury have to make the long cross-country journey to face New York, which desperately needs a victory in hopes of making the playoffs, being two games out from being the last seed. This is a day game, too, which makes it even rougher on Phoenix.

The Mercury haven't played in an Eastern Standard Time Zone game since mid-June. Phoenix is 4-11 on the road this season.

The teams met on July 7 in Phoenix and the Mercury won, 84-81. Home court should translate into a victory this time around for the Liberty.

These are two terrible teams, right? Well that's halfway correct. The Reds are 22 games below .500. But the Orioles actually are an above .500 team. They have been the most profitable team by far for bettors in the majors this season.

Once again, the Orioles are mispriced. They should not have opened underdogs to the Reds.

Baltimore is 16-6 in its last 22 games and 27-15 going back to its past 42 games. The Orioles have pulled out 23 come from behind victories, which is the second-highest in the American League.

The Reds are bad and likely to get worse being already active as the Tuesday trade deadline approaches. Gone is Luis Castillo, their best pitcher. Tyler Naquin also has departed. More veterans could be following. That can't help the Reds' concentration, nor team morale.

I certainly don't see why the Reds should be favored from a starting pitching standpoint either with Austin Voth facing rookie Nick Lodolo. Voth is not going deep into the game. He's made six starts and 23 relief appearances. The Orioles are 7-1 in Voth's last eight appearances.

I'm fine with a Baltimore bullpen game. The Orioles have the third-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors at 3.00. Lodolo will be making his fifth start since returning from a 69-day stint on the injured list. He has a 4.08 ERA in those starts. That ERA becomes 7.56 if you count just day games, which this matchup is.

One more thing. The Reds have the highest bullpen ERA in the majors at 5.21.

The oddsmaker opened this game short. Given the two listed starting pitchers, it would be surprising if there weren't double-digit runs produced in this game. I seriously question if rookies Glenn Otto of Texas and Chase Silseth should be in big league rotations yet. But since they are - at least for this game - I will gladly take advantage of it.

Otto is 4-7 with a 5.37 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. During his last six starts spanning 26 2/3 innings, Otto has permitted 21 earned runs, given up 31 hits and a dozen walks. 

Silseth has a 5.84 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. He had a very strong debut against Oakland. However, since then Silseth has made five starts. He couldn't reach the fifth inning in any of those outings. During his last five starts, Silseth has allowed 16 earned runs on 27 hits - including seven homers - in 18 2/3 innings. The Rangers rank in the top-10 in homers.

The Guardians beat the Rays, 4-1, behind Shane Bieber on Friday. Tampa Bay had won the previous seven times hosting Cleveland.

Look for things to revert back to normal in the second game of this series in a pitching matchup of Zach Plesac versus Corey Kluber.

Tampa Bay is 31-19 at home. Kluber isn't the Cy Young Award winner of 2014 and 2017 anymore. But he's still highly respectable and has pitched his best at tricky Tropicana Field with a 4-1 record and 3.42 ERA at home.

Plesac, who is 2-8 with a 4.09 ERA, is not in good current form. He's 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in his last three starts. He is 1-6 with a 4.97 ERA during his road starts.

The Guardians have lost 11 of their last 17 away contests. They are a below .500 team on the road.

Saskatchewan could be far closer to full strength than it was last week because of injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak. The Roughriders aren't a very good team, though, even if healthy. They lost and failed to cover against Toronto in their last two games. The Roughriders gave up an average of 30.5 points to the Argos in those two games. 

The Roughriders have played an easy schedule. BC is the first strong Western Division foe Saskatchewan has faced. BC is 4-1 with the lone loss occurring to two-time defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg. The Lions rank No. 1 in totals yards and points per game. They also give up the fewest yards per game on defense along with ranking first in pass defense.

Roughriders QB Cody Fajardo sat out last week due to a knee injury. Jake Dolegala filled in for Fajardo and completed just 46 percent of his throws. Fajardo is likely to return here, but his mobility may be limited. 

Saskatchewan last played this past Sunday. So the Roughriders are on a short week. BC, by contrast, last played on July 21. So the Lions are on extra rest and prep time. 

This is not vintage Shane Bieber. But this total is priced like it is. Bieber has been a mere mortal this season with a 4-6 record and 3.55 ERA. He has a bloated 5.23 ERA during his last three starts.

Tampa Bay starter Jeffrey Springs is not in good form either with a 4.40 ERA during his last three starts.

Both starting pitchers have been surrendering the long ball. Bieber has given up six homers in his last seven starts. Springs has yielded five homers during his past three starts.

So it shouldn't be too much to ask each of these teams to each score three runs, which would be all that is needed to get this total Over.

The Aces are off perhaps their most satisfying victory of the season beating the defending champion Sky, 93-83, in Chicago on Tuesday. At stake was the Commissioner's Cup, which the Aces won for the first time in franchise history, along with establishing who is the team to beat this season in the WNBA.

It was a monster victory for Las Vegas.

So the Aces can be excused if they take Indiana - the worst team in the league - too lightly. The Fever have lost 12 in a row, a young team clearly in rebuild mode.

The key question here is can the Aces still cover this large of a road number even if they play well below their standards in such an obvious letdown spot?

I say no. Las Vegas is 3-8 ATS the last 11 times it has played a below .500 opponent. The teams met eight days ago in Las Vegas and the Aces won that game by less than this point spread, 90-77.

Indiana has covered four of its past seven games. So the Fever still are trying. They have two talented players in Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith. The Fever should be rested and ready having not played since last Sunday.

Back at Yankee Stadium for the first time since July 17, the Yankees should be in a mood for a killing after getting swept in their two-game series by the cross-town Mets. The good news for the Yankees is they don't have to travel like the Royals. They also don't have to face Max Scherzer like they did on Wednesday.

The Yankees draw righty Brady Singer, who would be a bottom-of-the-rotation type starter for many teams. The Yankees are 41-19 the past 60 times they've gone against a right-handed starter. 

Jameson Taillon goes for New York. He's been better at Yankee Stadium where he's 6-1 with a 3.49 ERA. The Royals' bats have gone cold. Kansas City lost its last two games to the Angels getting shut out by rookie Janson Junk in a 4-0 loss on Wednesday and by Jose Suarez, 6-0, on Tuesday. Taillon and the Yankee bullpen, which has the second-lowest ERA in the majors, are superior to those Angels and their relief pitchers. 

The Royals are likely without two of their best players with catcher Salvador Perez out and shortstop Bobby Witt having missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury.

Note that of the Royals' last 10 defeats, all but one have come by multiple runs. 

Since a 27-17 start, the Angels have been in free fall. Even with their 6-0 win against the Royals on Tuesday, the Angels have lost 15 of their last 19 games. The Angels are without Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. They are bad again on the road this season going 18-29 in away games.

The Royals were averaging 5.6 runs and 12.6 hits in winning three in a row until Tuesday's loss to the Angels. Look for Kansas City to get back to winning in a pitching matchup of Janson Junk versus Brad Keller.

Junk's minor league ERA is 3.88. Keller has a 4.16 big league ERA, but pitches better at home and during the day. His home ERA is 3.88 and his day time ERA is 3.05.

The Mets have been outstanding this season at 59-37. But they are trumped by the Yankees, who are 66-31.

The Mets scored eight runs in their last game this past Sunday against the Padres. However, the Mets had scored only 10 runs during their previous five games for an average of two runs per game. The Yankees have scored 5 or more runs in 12 of their last 16 games. The Yankees are No. 1 in runs and homers. Aaron Judge has a MLB-high 37 homers with 81 RBI's and 80 runs scored.

The Mets can't compete with the Yankees' power. They rank 19th in homers. The Mets' offensive numbers go down when they face left-handed pitchers, which is the case here with southpaw Jordan Montgomery going against Taijuan Walker.

Walker has been superb with a 7-2 record and 2.55 ERA. But Montgomery has been very consistent for the Yankees with a 3.24 ERA. Montgomery is backed by a superior Yankees bullpen that ranks No. 2 in the league in bullpen ERA.

The Mets are well below average against lefty pitching ranking 21st in batting average, 22nd in OPS and 23rd in slugging percentage.

The Yankees have too many edges. The price is right to back them.

Until running into the Astros, the Mariners were the hottest team in baseball winning 14 in a row. Now the Mariners go from losing three straight to the 64-32 Astros to the 43-51 Rangers, who just lost two of three to Oakland, the worst team in the American League. 

Expect the Mariners to get back on track in a pitching matchup of Glenn Otto versus Chris Flexen. 

Otto hasn't proven he is big league caliber with a 5.40 ERA. Otto has given up 18 earned runs in his last five starts spanning 21 1/3 innings. Texas is 0-5 in those games. The Mariners just faced Otto eight days ago and put up three earned runs on five hits, including two homers, in six innings during their 6-2 road victory. Seattle is 20-7 the last 27 times facing a righty starter. 

Flexen's 3.79 ERA ranks 19th in the American League. He's been especially hot lately going 2-0 with a 1.10 ERA during his past three starts. 

The Rangers have lost 42 of the last 58 times on the road against above .500 opponents. 

The A's are going for their first home sweep of the season having won the first two games of their series against Texas. Don't expect the A's to achieve this. 

Oakland has the worst record in the American League. A big reason for this is a 14-32 home mark. The Rangers are eight games below .500. But they have a plus run differential. They are a superior team to the A's and have the better starting pitcher going Sunday. 

Martin Perez versus Paul Blackburn may seem like a starting pitching draw. It isn't. 

Perez is 7-2 with a 2.68 ERA. He's been terrific on the road with a 3-0 record and 2.52 ERA in eight away starts. Texas is 12-2 in Perez's last 14 starts. Both losses came to the Mariners. The A's have the worst offense in the majors ranking last in batting average and OPS, second-to-last in runs and third-from-the-bottom in homers. 
Blackburn was selected to the All-Star team. But he's not a real All-Star especially when it comes to pitching in Oakland where he's 1-4 at home with a 6.75 ERA.

Blackburn started the season off extremely well, but he's run out of gas posting a 6.46 ERA and 1.60 WHIP during his past six starts spanning 30 2/3 innings. Blackburn also has a terrible history against Texas with an 0-2 record and 10.54 ERA in four appearances. 

The Rangers just saw Blackburn 11 days ago getting to him for five runs in six innings. Blackburn gave up four walks in that game, throwing just 55 strikes out of 101 pitches. 

Dallas is 11-15 and hoping to land a playoff berth. The Wings can't take a loss to this opponent. 

Indiana is the worst team in the WNBA at 5-24. The Fever are in free fall. They've lost 11 in a row - all by seven or more points with the averaging losing margin being 14.5 points. 

The Wings were competitive in their last two games taking on the defending champion Sky in a home-road series. The Sky have the best record in the league at 21-6. Now the Wings are stepping down in class. They played the Fever a month ago and buried them, 94-68. 

I have to believe the Wings are going to win this game. The Fever haven't been competitive. So I'll lay the points. 

The season stats show the Sparks and Aces each ranking among the bottom three in defense. Lately, though, both teams have exhibited stronger defensive play. This is a rivalry matchup, too. So I'm going Under.

The Sparks have held their last three opponents to an average of 79 points a game. That's six points below their season average.

Aces coach Becky Hammon knows her team has to improve their defense if they're going to win the league title. Las Vegas held Indiana to 77 points in its last game this past Thursday. Even the 77-point figure is misleading because the Aces build up a huge lead. The Fever scored a bunch of points during garbage time.

''I told them I really don't care about offense,'' Hammon said after Thursday's game. ''I just wanted to see them play defense and they did that for the most part.'' The Aces have held their past four foes to an average of 81.5 points, which is four below their season average.

The Sparks have had trouble scoring against the Aces, averaging 73.6 points in three games versus Las Vegas this season. LA never scored more than 76 points during any of the three matchups.

There were 14 runs scored in last night's game between these two teams at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. I'm expecting at least a dozen runs to be scored in today's game with the pitching matchup pitting lefties Steven Matz against Mike Minor.

It's hard not to overreact to the Blue Jays destroying the Red Sox by 23 runs on Friday. Toronto pounded out 29 hits in winning, 28-5. 

Of course it was just one game. But it may take more than a day for the Red Sox to get rid of that embarrassment. But what really puts me on Toronto today besides its four-game win streak and hot hitting is the low lay price in a pitching matchup of Alek Manoah versus Kutter Crawford.

Cutter has a 4.50 ERA. That ERA goes up to 5.09 when he pitches at Fenway Park. Cutter's daytime ERA is 6.43. Manoah has become one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League with a 10-4 record and 2.28 ERA. He's faced Boston twice this year and is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the Red Sox. 

The Red Sox could be without J.D. Martinez for a second straight game due to back pain, while George Springer could return to Toronto's lineup after sitting out Friday's game to rest a sore elbow. 

Phoenix is the second-worst ATS team in the WNBA. The Mercury also rank second-to-last in rebounding and defense. They are a small, guard-oriented team that is without one of their better backcourt players, Diamond DeShields. She remains sidelined with a hip injury.

The Mercury also have been negatively impacted psychologically with the absence of their star center, Brittney Griner, who remains in legal difficulty in Russia.

Both teams need this game. The Storm is one of the elite teams in the league. They are playing for playoff seeding and coming off a 78-74 road loss to the defending champion Sky this past Wednesday. Seattle was outrebounded by 10 boards in that game. The defeat halted a four-game Seattle win streak.

The Storm have covered the past four times following a loss. They also will have a rare rebounding edge against Phoenix. It's a huge game for Tina Charles, who came to Seattle after Phoenix released her. The former All-Star did not have a pleasant stay with the Mercury.

I don't trust the Mercury even though they are one game out of the playoffs. They rarely beat an elite team and fail to close against weaker opponents. Phoenix could be rusty, too, having not played since last Sunday. The Mercury are 0-5 ATS the past five times when playing on three or more days rest.

Winnipeg is coming off a season-high 43-point scoring performance against BC, who gives up the fewest yards per game in the CFL. Now the Blue Bombers step way down in defensive class facing Edmonton. The Elks have the worst defensive numbers in the league, including allowing a CFL-worst 36.7 points per game.

QB Zach Collaros is off to an excellent start despite the Blue Bombers breaking in many new faces on offense. Winnipeg hasn't found a bell cow running back, but Collaros has found chemistry with his old receiving target from Hamilton, Greg Ellingson, and Dalton Schoen. Those two receivers have combined for 699 receiving yards, 44 receptions and six TD's in five games. Collaros has a 5-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 68 attempts during his past two games.

The Elks rank last in pass defense while also surrendering the most passing TD's. So Collaros is in line for another big performance.

Edmonton should do its part to help get this total Over. Winnipeg gives up the fewest points per game. However, the Blue Bombers' defensive statistics don't match that lofty No. 1 mark as Winnipeg ranks eighth in pass defense and sixth in total defense.