Odds and Bets: Washington Mystics’ Spell on the Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream vs Washington Mystics

Wednesday night in the WNBA sees the Atlanta Dream take their hopes to the nation’s capital to play the Washington Mystics. It’s an Eastern Conference rivalry renewed. The Mystics – 8-5 through 13 matches –  are chasing the number one seed in the division, led by the Connecticut Sun. Atlanta is looking to inch its way closer to .500, as they sit at 5-7, currently in fourth place.

Making this game quite intriguing is that Atlanta has the same respectable 4-2 away record as Washington does at home. If anything, the Dream plays to a higher standard when travelling. They are however coming off back-to-back blowout defeats (Dallas and New York). The club is still third in the WNBA in points scored per game (84.1), led by Allisha Gray (17.8) and Rhyne Howard (17.3). They may run into trouble in Washington as the Mystics are the best defensive squad, conceding only 73.8 points per tilt. They also hold opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the league at 39.6. Lastly, Washington is coming off a bitter 89-88 defeat to another club it’s chasing, the New York Liberty, so they’ll be laser-focused here. Look for a big game from Elena Delle Donne.

Best Bet: Washington Mystics with the spread

Tampa Bay Rays vs Arizona Diamondbacks

To go along with the Reds vs Orioles series that should garner interest is a trio of bouts in the desert between the Rays and Diamondbacks. Tampa Bay leads the AL West with the best win-loss record in the majors (54-28), and Arizona is still the top dog in the NL West at 48-32. The opening salvo between the squads was Tuesday, won by the hosts 8-4. Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker went yard back-to-back in a first inning that saw Arizona score five times en route to an 8-4 victory.

For the middle contest, the visiting Rays are sending Zach Eflin to the mound whereas the Diamondbacks put their faith in Zach Davies. Zach vs. Zach. Interesting. This is a huge opportunity for the Rays to get back on track. Eflin has been terrific this season, going 9-3 with a 3.35 ERA. Conversely, Davies has had a rocky campaign, what with a 1-4 record and a 7.82 ERA in only 35.2 innings. Both teams are top five in batting average and runs batted in. Expect the scoring to remain high.

Best Bet: Over 9.5 runs scored

Edmonton Elks vs Ottawa Redblacks

Week 4’s edition of Friday Night Football in the CFL kicks off the long Canada Day weekend. Fittingly, the match is disputed in the nation’s capital when the Edmonton Elks visit the Ottawa Redblacks. Neither squad has been up to par so far. Both are winless, with Ottawa at 0-2 and Edmonton at 0-3. It’s a bad offence (Ottawa is league-worst) against a bad defence (Edmonton gives up 27 points a game). For that matter, the Elks have the second-worst offence in the CFL, scoring only 14.7 points a game.

On Monday Redblacks coach Dob Dyce announced that QB Tyrie Adams would get the start in place of Nick Arbuckle. As for the Elks, one assumes that Taylor Cornelius is still the guy, but he’s been the starter three times already and they haven’t won. While the completion percentage is decent (61.5) he throws for fewer than 150 yards per game. Low-scoring teams can be involved in very tricky games to predict.

Best Bet: Elks with the underdog +3.0 spread