Frank Sawyer

At 10:30 PM ET on Tuesday, we will be playing Under the Total in the game between the Washington Mystics (639) and the Los Angeles Sparks (640). THE SITUATION: Washington (4-3) has lost two straight games after their 74-71 upset loss at home to Seattle as a 9.5-point favorite last Friday. Los Angeles (4-3) saw their two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday when they were upset at home to New York by a 98-92 score as an 11-point favorite.

REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: The Mystics enjoyed a 13-point lead in the 4th quarter in their first opportunity to avenge the three-game sweep they suffered to Seattle in the WNBA Finals last September. But they only scored 8 points in the final quarter to blow that game. Washington shot only 34.8% from the field in that game — and now they go on the road where they are making just 41% of their shots. The Mystics have played 4 of their last 5 games Under the Total on the road. Washington has also played 19 of their last 25 road games Under the Total as an underdog. The Mystics have scored at least 71 points in six straight games — but they have then played 19 of their last 28 games Under the Total after scoring at least 70 points in four straight games. Washington needs to tighten things up on the defensive end of the court after allowing their last five opponents to make at least 45.8% of their shots. The Mystics have played 7 straight games Under the Total after allowing at least three straight opponents to shoot better than 42% from the field. Additionally, Washington has played 4 of their last 5 games Under the Total against Western Conference foes. Los Angeles has played 6 straight games Under the Total after suffering an upset loss. The Sparks have also played 8 straight games at home Under the Total after a straight-up loss — and they have played 7 straight home games Under the Total after a point spread loss. LA has also played 11 of their last 14 games Under the Total after a game where both teams scored at least 75 points. The Sparks have scored 85 points in three straight games — but they have then played 9 of their last 10 games Under the Total after scoring at least 80 points in three straight contests. They stay at home where they have played a decisive 40 of their last 58 games Under the Total on their home court. They are holding their visitors to just 38.5% shooting when playing at home this season — and they will be anxious to play better on defense after allowing New York to make 47.1% of their shots which was the worst defensive of their season.

FINAL TAKE: The Sparks look to see the debut of Candace Parker back on the court tonight after she has missed the first seven games of the season with a hamstring injury. While she is a force on offense, she also helps Los Angeles on the defensive end of the court. Expect a lower scoring game. 10* WNBA Tuesday Late Show Bailout with Under the Total in the game between the Washington Mystics (639) and the Los Angeles Sparks (640). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 7:20 PM ET on Tuesday, we will be playing the money-line on the Atlanta Braves (904) versus the New York Mets (903) listing both starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Jacob DeGrom. THE SITUATION: Atlanta (43-30) has won ten of their last eleven games with their 12-3 win over the Mets yesterday in the opening game of this series. New York (34-38) has lost two straight as well as four of their last five games.

REASONS TO TAKE THE BRAVES WITH THE MONEY-LINE: Atlanta is a very intriguing money-line underdog as they are currently the hottest team in baseball. They are dogs in this game because they are facing the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner — but the Braves have scored at least five runs in ten of their last eleven games while outscoring their last two opponents by a whopping 27 to 4 margin. Atlanta has won 8 of their last 9 games after a win — and they have won 21 of their last 27 games after scoring at least five runs in their last game. The Braves have been very tough to beat at home in SunTrust Park where they have won 9 of their last 10 games — and they have won 9 of their last 12 home games against teams with a winning percentage below 40% on the road. They give the ball to Teheran who is 5-4 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in fifteen starts. Over his last eight starts, the veteran right-hander has an outstanding 0.81 ERA — and he has not allowed a home run since April 30th. Teheran has been great at home where he owns a 1.85 ERA in six starts. Atlanta has won 6 straight home games with Teheran on the hill — and they have won 5 straight home games with Teheran facing a team with a losing record. Additionally, the Braves have pulled the upset in a whopping 14 of their last 16 games with Teheran pitching as the underdog — and this includes six straight wins with him pitching as a home dog. He faces a Mets team that has lost 5 of their last 6 games against right-handed starting pitchers. New York has lost 7 of their last 8 games after allowing at least ten runs in their last game. The Mets have also lost 21 of their last 27 games on the road — and they have lost 10 of their last 12 road games against teams with a winning record at home. They counter with DeGrom who is 3-6 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in fourteen starts. The right-hander has been not quite as effective on the road in seven starts where opponents are hitting .238 against him as opposed to his .227 opponent’s batting average at home. But his teammates rarely seem to provide him much run support as the Mets have lost 5 straight games on the road. New York has also lost 8 of their last 10 games with DeGrom pitching as the favorite. He does come off a strong outing where he allowed only two runs in 7 innings of work against the Cardinals — but the Mets have lost 4 straight games with DeGrom looking to follow up a Quality Start. He faces a hot-hitting Braves team that is scoring 8.9 Runs-Per-Game over their last seven games with a .350 batting average along with a .414 On-Base Percentage and an OPS of 1.042 over that span. Atlanta is also scoring a robust 5.9 Runs-Per-Game at home this season with a .281 batting average along with a .355 On-Base Percentage and an OPS of .853. The Braves have won 10 of their last 11 games against right-handed starting pitchers — and they have won 4 of their last 5 games against starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.15 or lower.

FINAL TAKE: The Mets have lost 6 of their last 7 games with DeGrom making the start against the Braves — and this includes them losing four straight games on the road in Atlanta. New York has also lost 5 of their last 7 games in SunTrust Park against the Braves. 25* MLB Pre-All Star Break National League East Underdog of the Year with the money-line on the Atlanta Braves (904) versus the New York Mets (903) listing both starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Jacob DeGrom. Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 3:00 PM ET on Tuesday, we will be playing Over the Total in the match between Brazil (225917) and Italy (225918). THE SITUATION: Brazil (1-0-1) looks to bounce-back from a 3-2 loss to Australia last Thursday in their second World Cup match. Italy (2-0-0) remained undefeated in this tournament on Friday when they crushed Jamaica by a 5-0 score.

REASONS TO TAKE OVER THE TOTAL: Italy has been one of the surprises of the tournament after they upset Australia by a 2-1 score in their opening match. The Azzurre have scored seven goals in their first two matches while showing nice balance with their offensive attack. Italy has three players in Barbara Bonansea, Cristiana Girelli, and Aurora Galli who have already scored multiple goals in this event. In their last four friendlies before this tournament started, Italy scored nine goals. Manager Milena Bertolini has implemented a free-flowing style of play for this team that is playing their first World Cup in twenty years. But considering the prominent role that soccer plays in that nation, it should not be much of a surprise that the Blues have plenty of talent available to them. Entering this tournament, it looked like Italy would be a defensive-oriented team as they conceded only four goals in their eight World Cup qualifying matches. But perhaps the writing was on the wall for their style of play this summer given the six goals they allowed in those last four friendlies. Italy has seen both teams score in six of their last seven matches with their only clean sheet coming against a minnow side in Jamaica. Brazil is fighting their lives to reach the Knockout Stage — so they will likely play very aggressively this afternoon as they look to score goals. The Selecao have scored five goals in their first two matches — but their defense was exposed last week with Australia rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win that match by scoring three goals in just over 45 minutes of play. This is the last hurrah for the golden generation for the Brazilian national team — and they may be too old and slow for younger opponents. The Selecao has registered only one clean sheet in their last thirteen matches with that also being against the Reggae Girlz. Brazil may not have the services of their leader, Marta, who missed the first match and then left the match with the Aussies at halftime after suffering a knock. Cristiane has stepped up in her absence by scoring four goals so far in this event.

FINAL TAKE: Both these teams prefer to play on their front foot to push the pace of play. With Brazil needing goals to help in the tie-breaker, expect a high scoring match. 10* Women’s World Cup Tuesday Afternoon Discounted Deal with Over the Total in the match between Brazil (225917) and Italy (225918). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 3:00 PM ET on Tuesday, we will be playing Over the Total in the match between Australia (225913) and Jamaica (225914). THE SITUATION: Australia (1-0-1) earned their three points last Thursday with a 3-2 victory over Brazil. Jamaica (0-0-2) lost their second straight match in the World Cup by losing to Italy by a 5-0 score.

REASONS TO TAKE OVER THE TOTAL: Australia found themselves in dire straits as they trailed the Brazilians by a 2-0 score — and that came after suffering a 2-1 upset loss to Italy in their opening match. But the Matildas scored a late goal in extra time of the first half to get on the board and they completed their three-goal rally by scoring twice in the second half to stun the Selecao. That comeback victory should trigger confidence in this Australian team that limped into the World Cup with two straight losses. Expectations have never been higher for this Matildas team that has reached the Quarterfinals in the last three World Cups as well as the 2016 Olympics. This is probably the best roster this national team has ever assembled. But a 5-3 loss to the USA on May 3rd followed by a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands on June 1st left some questions on the table for this group. Australia is loaded with scoring firepower led by their 25-year old captain, Sam Kerr, who is one of the best goal scorers in the world. New manager Ante Milicic (who took over amidst scandal from the previous dirtbag manager of the Matildas) implemented a high-risk/high-reward pressing system a la the schemes used by Liverpool and Manchester City in the English Premier League. The goal is to create more scoring opportunities to take better advantage of their elite talent of Kerr and other players like forward Caitlin Foord. It worked for a bit against the US as those tactics created a 2-1 lead in that April friendly match. But the risk of pushing forward on the attack with left and right backs, Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter, jetting up the pitch to support their scoring opportunities is that they become very vulnerable to counter attacks. Team USA burned them by rallying to score three goals to win that match before the Dutch scored three more goals against them in that last friendly. Australia has scored and conceded four goals in their first two World Cup matches. With three points and tied with Brazil for second place in Group C play, goal differential may play a critical role as a tie-breaker. That means that the Matildas are highly likely to keep their foot on the proverbial accelerator in this match as they look to pile on the goals. But this strategy risks them conceding goals to the Reggae Girlz. Frankly, this Jamaica team is happy to be competing at this event after seeing their program dormant from 2008 to 2014. The daughter of Bob Marley, Cedella Marley, infused the national team with money to jumpstart the women’s team who then qualified for this World Cup with their third place finish in last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifier. The Reggae Girlz are young and inexperienced with seven of their players under the age of 22. But they are fast and happy to take their chances on the counter-attack. They have conceded eight goals in their two matches — but they have dynamic goal scorers led by Khadijah “Bunny” Shaw. The former Tennessee Volunteer has 31 goals in 23 caps for the national team and is an imposing presence on the pitch with her 5’11 frame. Jamaica had scored nine goals in their last four friendlies before this tournament — but they also allowed seven goals in those four matches.

FINAL TAKE: Australia should win this match easily as they press to score as many goals as they can to help their positioning. Winning Group C remains possible if Brazil defeats an undefeated Italian team — but they will need to plenty of goals to seize the goal differential tie-breaker. Jamaica is leaky on their back end — but I will not be surprised if they leave this match relatively happy by scoring their first ever goal in World Cup competition. 25* Women’s World Cup Group C Total of the Year with Over the Total in the match between Australia (225913) and Jamaica (225914). Best of luck for us — Frank.