PHOENIX MERCURY @ INDIANA FEVER – 4:30PM
The Mercury are in Indiana today on the second day of a back to back to take on the Fever after defeating the Chicago Sky last night 85-65. These teams have played each other twice so far this season with the Fever owning the series 2-0. Even though the Mercury looked pretty good yesterday against Chicago this is a matchup where rest is going to be a huge factor in dictating the outcome. Back to back’s aren’t nearly as common in the WNBA as they are in the NBA but every team has a handful of them built into their schedule for the 40 game season. The impact from playing consecutive games so close to each other seems to be a bit more profound in the WNBA and it’s been detrimental to the Mercury so far this season. In the two back to back scenarios they had played earlier this year they were 0-4 (Losses to Connecticut/New York on 5/28 & 5/29 AND Losses to Indiana/Connecticut on 6/30 & 7/1). While the win last night was certainly earned and hard fought it was against a depleted Chicago Sky team that was missing their usual starting backcourt (Marina Mabrey got traded and Chennedy Carter was sick). To make things worse, the starters had to play heavy minutes as the Mercury are short handed right now with injuries to starter Rebecca Allen and reserves Sug Sutton and Charisa Osborne. This should have been a game where the Mercury could have sat their big 3 of Copper, Taurasi, and Griner for the 2nd half to rest them for the Fever game tonight but instead they all played over 30 minutes (more than their regular season AND career averages for minutes played per game) in a 20 point blow out. Now with short rest the aging Mercury big 3 have to get back out on the court and face a team that has owned them so far this season in a hostile home court environment in Indiana. We can mention all the great things Caitlin Clark has done so far this year, her rivalry with Diana Taurasi, or go over the last two Fever and Mercury box scores to build a good case for the Fever to win tonight. The way I see it, this is a matchup of a tired short handed team in the Mercury going up against a refreshed and motivated Fever team that will be looking to improve their playoff position in their first game back since the All Star break. With the line sitting at only 2.5 there is definitely an opportunity to bet Fever spread or an alternate spread/margin to maximize your payout. Bottom line you can count on the Fever to win today and don’t be surprised if its by double digits.
The Pick: Indiana Fever Moneyline
CHICAGO WHITE SOX @ HOUSTON ASTROS – 5:10PM
The White Sox are in Houston today to close out their regular season series against the Astros. The Astros currently lead the season series 2 games to 1 as these teams last played in a 3 game homestand in Chicago back in June. Things have changed quite a bit since then for Houston. The Astros had a losing record the last time they played the White Sox and there was just a general lack of optimism about the team’s post season potential at that time. They now enter this matchup riding high on an 8 game winning streak that has catapulted them out of the wild card race and into the top spot of the American League West Division where they hold a 2 game lead over the Seattle Mariners. The Astros have not been able to play a home game yet since the win streak started and considering that their last home game on August 4th was almost a sell out (about 35k in attendance), it feels safe to assume that the atmosphere at Minute Maid park will be electric tonight and Astros fans will pack the stadium to rally on their team. As far as the pitching matchup goes the Astros will be starting Spencer Arrighetti and the White Sox will have their ace Garret Crochet on the mound. Up until the All Star break going up against Crochet would have been considered bad news. Since the All Star break Crochet has not looked like his normal self and seems to have lost his elite pitching form. In Crochet’s 4 starts since the break he has failed to pitch more than 4 innings and the White Sox have lost each game. Crochet has given up 20 hits and 13 runs over that stretch and in his last start against the Cubs on August 9th he got shelled in the first 3 innings, gave up 4 home runs, and got pulled early. To make matters worse in Crochet’s last start against the Astros back on June 19th at home, he gave up 9 hits and 3 runs and the Astros won 4-1. Don’t forget this White Sox team is also historically bad on the road and has found a way to lose 81% of the time in away games this year (11-49 record). Between the recent bad outings from Crochet and the challenges the White Sox have had winning road games all year, I just don’t see how this team can overcome the momentum of the Astros right now to get a win. Take the Astros tonight on the moneyline and look to bet on them Saturday and Sunday too.
The Pick: Houston Astros Moneyline
OTHER BETS TO CONSIDER:
Arizona Diamondbacks Moneyline
Baltimore Orioles Moneyline
San Diego Padres Moneyline
Connecticut Sun Moneyline
Seattle Storm Moneyline
Caitlin Clark 10+ Assists
NaLyssa Smith 10+ Points
Jake McCarthy 2+ Hits
Jake McCarthy 1+ RBI’s
Alex Bregman 2+ Hits
LONG SHOT BET:
3 Leg Parlay +3125 Odds
Indiana Fever to win by 11+ (Win Margin)
Connecticut Sun to win by 11+ (Win Margin)
Ryne Nelson 7+ Strikeouts
A $5 wager pays $156.28