Sports Handicapper Jim Feist's Picks & Predictions

I’ll back the Golden State Valkyries against Portland here on Sunday. Golden State currently sits at 28-11 against Portland’s 16-23, but the Valkyries still have something to play for as they fight for home-court advantage and one of the top seeds in the playoffs. Portland is officially out of playoff contention. 

The biggest reason I like Golden State in this one is defense. The Valkyries do a terrific job at ball pressure, forcing turnovers and contesting shots on the perimeter. That defensive prowess becomes even more valuable with Portland missing starting point guard Carla Leite (out to prepare for the FIBA World Cup), along with Sarah Ashlee Barker who is out for the season. Portland simply does not have the weapons to consistently score against one of the best defensive teams in the league.

Golden State is dealing with their own absences, as Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini will miss the game while representing their country in the World Cup. They have coped with regular absences by relying heavily on their bench depth, and when these teams played earlier this season Golden State played 12 players, no player logged more than 27 minutes, and rolled to a 95-77 win blasting 18 three pointers.

Perimeter shooting will once again be key in this matchup. Portland has poor three-point defense, and Golden State is not afraid to fire away from distance. Even without their usual cast Golden State should be able to manufacture good looks and use their defense to create easy buckets in transition.

Jim's Play: 625. GS Valkyries

I'm playing  the Chicago Cubs to win on Sunday despite Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns. Burns is great overall at 14-3 with a 2.77 ERA, but he wasn't sharp in his last outing, surrendering five runs and nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings against San Francisco. Burns is also on the verge of setting a career-high in workload, so the Reds may not let him go deep Sunday.

Opposing Burns is Shota Imanaga and the Cubs southpaw has a 3.78 ERA while pitching his best baseball over his last few starts before being knocked out early in Seattle. Going into that start, Imanaga had a 2.67 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over his previous 12 outings, so Chicago has a chance to keep Cincinnati at bay.

Chicago's offense is really what has me leaning toward them though. The Cubs pounded out 17 runs and 19 hits Saturday as Pete Crow-Armstrong hit three home runs and Carson Kelly, Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman were also all deep. Cincinnati is losing games at this point having dropped 10 of its last 15, while Chicago is still alive in the playoff hunt and is 39-28 at home at Wrigley Field.

Burns might suppress Chicago early, but the Cubs have a deeper lineup and more talent throughout their batting order. Chicago also has the advantage if it can get Burns out of the game early and face a Cincinnati pitching staff that has a 4.55 team ERA.

Jim's Play: 958. Cubs 

The Astros and Mets both come into this one on fire. I like Sunday’s matchup to go OVER and Houston’s starting pitching situation is the biggest reason why.

Ethan Pecko is set to make just his third major-league start for Houston. The rookie has pitched eight innings at the MLB level with a 7.88 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. Houston’s rotation has performed terribly this year, posting a 5.11 ERA while averaging only 4.9 innings per start. That means there’s a chance New York will see quite a bit of Houston’s bullpen as well.

New York got another huge lift Saturday when Juan Soto came off the injured list. The Mets offense scored six runs in its 6-2 win over Pittsburgh, and Soto drove in the go-ahead run. Jared Young had three RBIs and Francisco Alvarez added a two-run double. Soto adds huge juice to this offense alongside Francisco Lindor and the rest of New York’s lineup. They should have a higher offensive ceiling with him in the mix against a rookie starter.

Houston seems like it can post enough runs of their own against Zac Thornton to make the OVER a reality as well. Thornton’s overall 2.88 ERA looks great, but his numbers have taken a dip in August. Opponents are hitting .298 against him this month and he’s allowed four homers in 26 innings. 

The current total sits at 9 runs, and I feel like that gives both offenses enough room to operate. The Mets have a prime opportunity to mash against Pecko and his inexperience, while Houston has enough power bats to put up three or four runs against Thornton and the Mets bullpen.

Jim's Play: 977. Astros / Mets OVER

The Pirates and Cardinals UNDER on Sunday has been an angle I've gravitated towards for a few days and Braxton Ashcraft offers the most compelling argument to back up a low-scoring affair.

Ashcraft has been dominating in August. He has given up one earned run in each of his last three starts, tossing a total of 23 innings against Miami, Detroit and San Diego. He currently sits 13-5 with a 3.65 ERA and MLB has his estimated total roughly sitting at a 1.91 ERA over his five starts in August.

This will not be an easy matchup for a Cardinals offense that hasn't shown up in this series so far. St. Louis managed four runs on Friday and just two Saturday while failing to capitalize on multiple Pittsburgh defensive miscues in Saturday's 6-2 defeat.

The Pirates side is less intimidating because Matthew Liberatore sports a 5.44 ERA and was roughed up by the Baltimore Orioles in his most recent start. Pittsburgh does have problems against left-handed pitching, though, entering Sunday's game just 13-29 against left-handed starters. Liberatore also punched out nine Pirates hitters while tossing only 4 innings against the Buccos back in April.

Taking the total down to 7.5, I trust Ashcraft to limit the Cardinals while Pittsburgh does just enough against Liberatore without blasting enough runs to go OVER.

Jim's Play: 955. Pirates / Cardinals UNDER