Odds and Bets: East Meets West in CFL Thursday Night Football
Today’s Sports Betting Picks – Thursday, August 24, 2023
Liberty at Sun: Eastern Conference showdown
The highlight of the WNBA schedule on Thursday is a meeting of the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Liberty and Sun, going head-to-head in Connecticut. New York has won both previous meetings this season, finishing with an 81-65 home victory in late May and an 89-81 road victory about a month later. The regular season series will end in New York on Sept. 1.
The Liberty lead the East with a 25-7 record, while the Sun are second at 23-10. New York, Connecticut and league-leading Las Vegas are the only teams to have already clinched a playoff spot. The Liberty are averaging 88.0 points per game, which ranks second in the league. The Sun rank fourth with 82.9 ppg.
Breanna Stewart continues to make her case for league MVP this season. Stewart ranks second in the league in average points per game (22.6), fourth in rebounds (9.1) and fourth in blocks (1.6). Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot have also been large contributors. Ionescu leads the WNBA in total three-pointers made (109) and she is third in three-point percentage (44.7). Vandersloot is averaging a league-best 8.0 rebounds per game.
In the absence of Brionna Jones, the duo of DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas have led the way for Connecticut. Bonner is averaging a team-best 17.8 ppg, while Thomas is averaging 15.7 ppg. Thomas also ranks first in the WNBA in average rebounds per game (10.0), second in assists per game (7.9) and third in steals per game (1.8). Jones was having one of the best seasons of her career, but she will miss the rest of the regular after tearing her right Achilles tendon against Seattle on June 20.
These are two offensively strong teams, but their defensive play is just as elite. With three of the last four head-to-heads finishing Under the total, don’t bank on a high scoring game.
WNBA best bet: Take the Under on the game total
Blue Jays at Orioles: Divisional duel
It was a tough end to a three-game series for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night as the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles crushed Toronto 7-0. The Jays won the opener 6-3 on Tuesday thanks to a 10th inning homer by Brandon Belt. Toronto heads into Thursday night’s finale with just three wins in their last 10 games against the O’s. The Over/Under has split evenly across those 10 contests.
The Jays are officially sitting outside the wild card picture, trailing Seattle by one game in the standings. They have a three-game lead over the next closest team, Boston, but they’re still 8.5 games back of division leader Baltimore in the AL East.
Right-hander Jose Berrios gets the ball for Toronto on Thursday. The 29-year-old has a 9-8 record in 2023 with a 3.39 ERA. Berrios lasted 5.2 innings in his last start on Aug. 18 in Cincinnati, allowing just one hit and no earned runs while recording eight strikeouts and four walks.
Kyle Gibson will take the mound for Baltimore on Thursday. The 35-year-old righty is 12-7 this season with a 4.97 ERA. Despite a shaky performance, Gibson earned the win in his last start in Oakland on Aug. 18. He went five innings, allowing four hits and four earned runs while recording six strikeouts and no walks.
MLB best bet: Game total Over 9.0 runs
Alouettes at Blue Bombers: East meets West
While Winnipeg has won seven of the last 10 meetings between these teams, it’s worth noting head-to-head action has alternated evenly over the last four contests. The Bombers walked away with a 17-3 win earlier this season when the teams met on Canada Day in Week 4. Part of the reason for the low scoring contest can be attributed to the two-hour weather delay and sloppy field conditions.
The Als will get a big boost this week with the return of starting quarterback Cody Fajardo, who has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. In seven games this season, Fajardo has racked up 1,877 passing yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He ranks seventh in the CFL in both average yards per pass attempt (9.3) and QB efficiency rating (96.5).
Winnipeg is also seeing the return of their starting quarterback as Zach Collaros will take the field after missing most of the last two games. Collaros, the CFL’s two-time reigning Most Outstanding Player, ranks third in the league in total passing yards (2,298), third in average yards per attempt (10.2) and third in average yards per game (255.3). He has also thrown a league-high 16 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.
Riding a four-game win streak, the Blue Bombers have been the kings of the West Division with an 8-2 record this season, but don’t sleep on Montreal in this one. The Als are second in the East Division with a 6-3 record and they’re currently red hot while also riding a four-game win streak. This could be a closer game than you might think.
CFL best bet: Take the points and bet Montreal to cover at +8.5 (-110)
