Matt Fargo

This is a play on the CLEVELAND GUARDIANS as part of our MLB Saturday Triple Play. Seattle blew a 4-0 lead last night as it lost 5-4 and is now three games behind the Yankees for the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the American League. The Mariners are 31-36 on the road yet come in as favorites again despite starting a pitcher with reverse splits. It was George Kirby last night and Logan Gilbert tonight as Gilbert comes in with a 3.69 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 19 starts which includes a 2.15 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 11 home outings but a 6.00 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in eight road starts. Cleveland has won three straight following a six-game skid that included three straight shutout losses. The Guardians are a game over .500 overall and are still in the hunt as they are four games out with 29 games with this being another huge game. Gavin Williams has quietly been really good with a 3.36 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 26 starts and he has been decent on the road but has a 3.18 ERA and 1.25 WHIP at home. 10* (916) Cleveland Guardians

This is a play on the CHICAGO WHITE SOX as part of our MLB Saturday Triple Play. The Yankees have taken the first two games of this series 10-4 and 10-2 and are heavy favorites again tonight. They have won six straight games to move three games behind Toronto in the American League East. Cam Schlittler has tossed two straight quality outings of allowing no runs, covering 12.2 innings. He looks like the real deal with a 2.76 ERA but New York is just 4-4 in his eight starts. Chicago is typical Chicago of late but showed signs prior and is catching value in this pitching matchup. Shane Smith has been a bright spot for the White Sox where not much has gone right. He opened the season with consecutive starts of allowing two or fewer hits, two or fewer runs, and at least 17 outs, only the fifth time that has happened for a starter in White Sox franchise history. Overall, he has a 3.38 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 23 starts including a 3.31 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 11 home starts. 10* (912) Chicago White Sox

This is a play on the MIAMI MARLINS as part of our MLB Saturday Triple Play. Miami took the opener of this series but gave it back last night as Eury Perez could not get out of the first inning, allowing five runs in 0.2 innings and Tyler Zuber could not get out of the second inning, allowing seven runs in one inning and it was game over. The Marlins are still a respectable 32-35 on the road and turn to Edward Cabrera who has been solid this season with a 3.32 ERA and 1.18 WHIP through 23 starts. He had a couple rough outings but bounced back in his last start, allowing no runs over seven innings while striking out 10. New York is still fairly hot as it has won four of five and nine of its last 13 games. The Mets are in the No. 3 Wild Card spot in the National League, three games up on the Reds and David Peterson gets the ball who is also having a great season. He is coming off a pair of good outings following two poor starts at home and he is overvalued based on the matchup. 10* (901) Miami Marlins

This is a play on the CLEMSON TIGERS for our Saturday Free Play. Clemson is coming off a CFP appearance last season after winning the ACC Championship game but the Tigers were ousted in the first round against Texas. Big things are expected as the Tigers bring back 17 starters and ESPN has them ranked No. 1 in returning production. Quarterback Cade Klubnik is a legitimate Heisman candidate to lead an offense that averaged 34.7 ppg and 452 ypg and along with Klubnik, they bring back their top three receivers and have the No. 2 ranked offensive line in the country. The defense will be better with defensive coordinator Tom Allen who had that same title at Penn St. last season. Dabo Swinney is 17-0 in season openers. LSU has been solid under head coach Brian Kelly with a 29-11 record over three years but just 4-8 against ranked teams. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is also a Heisman candidate and the offense should be better after dropping off by 15 ppg last season. The defense will be stout again but Death Valley at night will be too hard to overcome. Play (220) Clemson Tigers

This is a play on the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE for our CFB Game of the Month. A team with one of the biggest bad tastes in their mouths has to be Alabama as it opened 4-0 including a win over Georgia but ended up finishing 9-4 which was its worst record in 17 seasons. Head coach Kalen DeBoer came into a tough situation with only 11 returning starters and having to replace the greatest college football coach ever. The situation is better in Year Two as the Crimson Tide have 15 starters back and while they lose quarterback Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson has incredible talent and while he cannot match the running ability, he will improve upon the 16:11 TD:INT ratio. This roster is one of the best in the country and they will be out for blood in game one. Alabama has won 23 straight season openers and there will be plenty of motivation in this edition. Florida St. was a mess last season and while it will be better, no one really knows how much better. 16 starters are back and are led by quarterback Thomas Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College was benched and left the team. And he has been barking to Alabama. Bad move. 10* (211) Alabama Crimson Tide

This is a play on the NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS as part of our CFB Saturday Early Three-Pack. Northwestern is not getting a lot of love after a 4-8 season as its win total is at 3.5 and the Wildcats are expected to finish bottom four in the Big Ten Conference. Last season Northwestern had to play its home games all off campus due to renovations of Ryan Field so there was no real home field advantage and this is the case again this season but we are not concerned about that in this road game. Head coach David Braun is in his third season and the 15 returning starters are the most he has had so this is a team that could easily overachieve. The rushing offense should flourish and quarterback Preston Stone who transferred in from SMU is a huge upgrade. Tulane contended in the AAC last season as it finished 7-1 but lost to Army in the championship game and then got rolled by Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. We expect a tumble as the Green Wave lost a lot to the transfer portal namely Darian Mensah who left for Duke as well as all everything running back Makhi Hughes and their top receivers. Early sell high spot. 10* (203) Northwestern Wildcats

This is a play on the KENTUCKY WILDCATS as part of our CFB Saturday Early Three-Pack. Kentucky suffered its first losing season since 2015 as it went 4-8 including just three FBS wins. Expectations are extremely low once again as the Wildcats are picked to finish No. 15 in the 16-team SEC and these are two scenarios we love come the season opener. This is a team that has heard how bad it was and how bad it is expected to be all offseason and that is a huge motivator. Eight starters are back on offense and despite only five starters returning on defense, they will be fine with head coach Mark Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White knowing their defense. While it was a tough season, the Wildcats did roll over eventual MAC Champion Ohio so we are seeing another MAC advantage. Kentucky has won 17 straight meetings against the MAC, going 13-4 ATS. Toledo is the favorite to win the MAC and while this is obviously a very talented team, it is still the MAC vs. the SEC. The Rockets did roll over Mississippi St. last season on the road but the Bulldogs were one of the worst P4 teams in the country. 10* (192) Kentucky Wildcats

This is a play on the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS as part of our CFB Saturday Early Three-Pack. Tennessee made it to the CFP last season before getting blitzed by eventual National Champion Ohio St. There is expected to be regression this season as the Volunteers are the third least experienced team in the SEC but this is a spot to hammer. The Kickoff Classic will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium so while this is a neutral site game, this is SEC country with the Tennessee fans always being great travelers. The offense was excellent once again last season but there are questions, namely at running back and wide receiver. Quarterback Joey Aguilar should be just fine operating behind a strong offensive line. Defensively is where the strength is similar to last season and they should dominate here. Syracuse is coming off its best season in years under first year head coach Fran Brown and now they are looking at a bottom half finish in the ACC after a 10-win season overall and a 5-3 record in the conference. The offense lost nearly everyone with only two starters back and on defense, the Orange have just six starters returning. 10* (182) Tennessee Volunteers

This is a play on the KANSAS CITY ROYALS as part of our MLB Sunday Double Play. Detroit took this series opener on Friday but gave it back yesterday and has now lost five of its last six games as the Tigers continue to flounder on the road as they are now 35-33. They come in as big favorites Sunday for obvious reasons and we are fading. Tarik Skubal remains the Cy Young favorite in the American League over Garrett Crochet with his 2.28 ERA and 0.87 WHIP through 26 starts and while his numbers are better on the road, the wins are not coming as he is 8-1 at home but just 3-3 on the road with Detroit going 8-3 in his 11 road starts but three of those were one run wins and two others were in extra innings. The Royals are six games over .500 at home and at 70-66, they are right in the Wild Card mix, two games behind Seattle. Michael Wacha comes in with a 3.39 ERA as he has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight starts with the outlier allowing three runs. He returns home where he has a 2.71 ERA. 10* (966) Kansas City Royals

This is a play on the LOS ANGELES ANGELS as part of our MLB Sunday Double Play. We are going contrarian with the Angels in some regards, namely going against the Astros pitching. Los Angeles took Game Two yesterday, snapping a three-game slide and are catching a good number here despite the opposing pitcher. Jose Soriano has had a solid season with a 3.85 ERA and 1.36 WHIP and he limits damage by keeping the ball in the yard as he has allowed only 11 home runs and of 161 starters that have gone at least 50 innings, he is No. 9 in HR/9. He has reverse splits with a 5.11 ERA and 1.49 WHIP at home but on the road he has a 2.69 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Houston remains in first place in the American League West by three games over Seattle and while they have been dominant at home this season, the big concern is the offense that has dried up, averaging 2.3 rpg over their last six games. Hunter Brown has been exceptional but we will fade with Houston going just 7-5 in his 12 home starts. 10* (963) Los Angeles Angels

This is a play on the VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES for our CFB Sunday Enforcer. Virginia Tech came into last season with major hype as they returned 20 starters as were picked by a few to win the ACC but fell flat with a 6-7 record. Now the hype is not there and the Hokies are a buy-low team that no one is talking about. It is far from a rebuild but changes were made as they hired Philip Montgomery as offensive coordinator and Sam Siefkes as defensive coordinator, the latter being an outstanding hire. The offense did not improve much from 2023 but the new coordinator should improve things and quarterback Kyron Drones could be ready for a breakout and he will not be facing the 2024 Gamecocks defense today. Defensively, they hit the transfer portal hard and will be a huge improvement. South Carolina was a huge surprise last season as it was picked between No. 11 and No. 13 in the SEC and tied for No. 4 and finished 9-4. The defense was outstanding, allowing 18.1 ppg on 317 ypg but the Gamecocks lost a ton of talent on that side with five players being drafted. The offense improved by some from 2023 with a lot of that credit going to freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers who was outstanding but had issues with ball control and Virginia Tech has had a few months to figure him out. 10* (229) Virginia Tech Hokies