Sports Handicapper Sean Murphy's Picks & Predictions

My selection is on Indiana plus the points over New York at 3 pm et on Saturday.

Indiana is expected to get a major boost with the return of both Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham on Saturday. The Fever turned in one of their worst performances of the season last time out as they were blown out in Atlanta. That snapped a two-game SU and ATS winning streak. They'll play with revenge on Saturday after dropping a narrow two-point decision at home against New York back on May 24th. The Liberty are still undefeated on the season and check in off an easy 85-66 win at home against the lowly Sky earlier this week. Look for the Fever to give the Liberty all they can handle on Saturday afternoon. Take Indiana (8*).

Interleague Underdog Game of the Month. My selection is on Tampa Bay over New York at 4:10 pm et on Saturday.

The Rays rallied for a 7-5 win in the opener of this series last night and we'll back them as they look to notch another victory on Saturday. Drew Rasmussen has been terrific for Tampa Bay this season, logging a 3.24 FIP and 0.90 WHIP while holding opponents to just 2.2 runs per nine innings. Mets starter Tylor Megill got off to a fine start to the campaign but has struggled since and owns a 3.15 FIP and 1.30 WHIP, yielding north of 4.3 runs per nine innings. The bullpen matchup goes the Rays way based on current form as well. Tampa Bay's 'pen has posted a collective 2.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over the last week while the Mets relief corps' has logged a 5.21 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. Take Tampa Bay (10*).

My selection is on the 'over' between the Athletics and Kansas City at 4:10 pm et on Saturday.

We saw plenty of offense in last night's game between these two teams and we'll call for more of the same on Saturday. Jacob Lopez will take the ball for the Athletics. He owns a 5.62 FIP and 1.71 WHIP this season and has allowed well north of 7.0 runs per nine innings. Michael Lorenzen has been good but certainly not great for the Royals, posting a 4.75 FIP and 1.38 WHIP while allowing 5.2 runs per nine frames. Meanwhile, both bullpens have struggled lately with the A's relief corps posting a 5.63 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over the last week and the Royals' recording a 4.50 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over the same stretch. Take the over (8*).

My selection is on Atlanta -1.5 runs over Colorado at 4:10 pm et on Saturday.

The Braves exploded late in an eventual blowout win over the Rockies to open this series last night. We'll call for Atlanta to beat up on Colorado again on Saturday afternoon. The Rockies bullpen is a mess right now having posted an 11.42 ERA and 2.08 WHIP with no saves converted and three blown over the last week. Meanwhile, the Braves 'pen has logged a 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while needing to work only 13 innings over that same stretch. The starting pitching matchup favors the Braves here as well. While Spencer Strider hasn't been at his best since returning from injury he still owns better numbers than Rockies starter Chase Dollander. Note that Dollander has allowed a whopping 7.5 runs per nine innings in 10 starts (to go along with a 6.30 FIP and 1.55 WHIP). Take Atlanta -1.5 runs (8*).

My selection is on Philadelphia over Toronto at 4:05 pm et on Saturday.

The Phillies took the opener of this series in blowout fashion last night and we'll call for them to prevail again on Saturday afternoon. Cristopher Sanchez will take the ball for Philadelphia. He's quietly enjoying another solid campaign having posted a 3.37 FIP and 1.29 WHIP while allowing just north of 3.2 runs per nine innings (that's a career-best). It's been a much different story for Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis. After a promising rookie campaign last year, the wheels have come off so far this season. He checks in sporting a 6.91 FIP and 1.56 WHIP and has given up just shy of 6.6 runs per nine frames. The Phillies also own a bullpen edge based on current form. Their relief corps has posted a collective 3.71 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over the last week (working just 17 innings) while the Jays 'pen has recorded a 6.97 ERA and 1.69 WHIP while logging 20 2/3 innings over the same stretch. Take Philadelphia (8*).

Saturday MLB Free play. My selection is on Texas -1.5 runs over Chicago at 4:05 pm et on Saturday.

We'll back the Rangers on the run-line on Saturday as they look to stay hot against the White Sox. Jacob deGrom will take the ball for Texas. He's enjoyed a terrific campaign so far, logging a 3.42 FIP and 0.92 WHIP. While his opponent on Saturday, rookie Mike Vasil, has performed admirably in 19 appearances, those have mostly come out of the bullpen. He may work in an 'opener' role here but that's still concerning as the White Sox bullpen has posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.57 WHIP over the last week. Texas' 'pen has been outstanding lately, logging a 1.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over the same stretch. Take Texas -1.5 runs.

My selection is on Edmonton over Florida at 8 pm et on Saturday.

The Oilers were able to find that extra gear after falling behind 3-0 after the first period in Game 4 of this series on Thursday. It would have been easy to count Edmonton out at that point as Florida dominated the game's first 20 minutes. Not only did the Oilers rally to win that game but they also showed a lot of resiliency prevailing in overtime after the Panthers tied things up with 20 seconds remaining in the third period. While it is the Panthers turn to respond on Saturday, they'll be hard-pressed to do so on the road, noting that Edmonton is 32-14-4 on home ice this season where it has outscored opponents by 0.6 goals per game. Better still, the Oilers are a profitable 66-30 in their last 96 games as a home favorite while the Panthers have proven vulnerable defensively on the road (2.9 goals per game allowed), at least compared to their play at home (2.5 goals per game allowed). Florida has played an awful lot of hockey over the last 2+ years and I think it catches up to it as this series goes on. Take Edmonton (8*).

My selection is on the 'over' 2.5 goals between Al Ahly and Inter Miami at 8 pm et on Saturday.

We'll lay the juice to back the 'over' at a very reasonable number on Friday as the FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in Miami. Inter Miami enters this contest having not recorded a clean sheet in any of its last 10 matches. In fact, each of its last nine contests have gone 'over' 2.5 total goals with both sides finding the back of the net in eight of those contests. On the flip side, Al Ahly has seen five of its last seven matches go 'over' 2.5 total goals. Also of note, it has been first to score in six of its last eight contests. The goal here will certainly be to put Inter Miami on its back foot early. While that's a tall task, I do think Al Ahly can find the back of the net once to help this total along. Take the over (8*).