This is a play on the MONTREAL ALOUETTES for our CFL Thursday Enforcer. Divisional leaders square off on Thursday with Montreal having the edge at home. Saskatchewan is 2-1 on the road with the loss coming against a very good B.C. team with the wins coming against Hamilton and Edmonton which are a combined 1-11. Montreal has a scheduling edge as it is coming off its first loss of the season, a 37-18 setback against Toronto where quarterback Cody Fajardo went down so the Alouettes completely lost their gameplan. They are coming off a bye week which gives them extra time to get their backup quarterback ready as opposed to being thrown right into action. Caleb Evans will be getting the start over Fajardo and he will face an opportunistic defense that has forced 19 turnovers including 12 interceptions which is a concern but the Roughriders have allowed the most passing yards in the league with 328.2 ypg. Shea Patterson will be making another start for Saskatchewan and he has been decent with a 2-1 record but he just two touchdowns and one interception but this will be a test. The Alouettes have the second-best turnover ratio (+6) in the league and is the best at defending the pass, allowing just 223.3 ypg. Montreal does give up the second-most rushing yards at 109.0 ypg but AJ Ouellette is out for Saskatchewan. Montreal had its 13-game winning streak snapped and will be out for some retribution and we are catching a low number to get it done. 10* (772) Montreal Alouettes

This is a play on the NEW YORK METS for our MLB Star Attraction. New York has undoubtedly been the better team as it is 29-13 over its last 42 games going back to May 30 (Atlanta is 23-24 since May 30) and its offense has been mashing it. The Mets are No. 1 in baseball in wRC+ since June 1 and over the last 30 days, they are No. 7 in wRC+ against left-handed pitching and while they certainly have a tough matchup here, we love the value. The Braves have now dropped four straight games following a 9-5 loss against Washington and they had the second game of their doubleheader which was probably a good thing. The pitching has been the issue during this skid but the offense has not done much to help and the injury list is getting bigger with Ronald Acuna Jr, Michael Harris II and now Ozzie Albies all on the IL and while the current lineup is still good, the production has dipped as since Acuna went down, the Braves are No. 26 in wRC+. Chris Sale is having a resurgent season after a rough ending in Boston barred by injuries and some poor pitching when he was healthy. He has a 2.70 ERA and a 2.69 xERA so he is still pitching to expectations and the Braves are 13-5 in his 18 starts but it was more successful early on when the offense was intact as he got a lot of run support early taking pressure off. He has a tough matchup here as mentioned. Luis Severino was solid in his first start out of the break as he allowed no runs on two hits over six innings albeit against Miami. Still, he is having a very good season with a 3.58 ERA and 3.79 xERA and facing a Braves team that has been not only struggling overall, but more so against righties as they are No. 27 in wRC+ over the past month. 10* (956) New York Mets

This is a play on the OAKLAND ATHLETICS for our MLB Divisional Game of the Year. Oakland was on a 5-1 run heading into Wednesday but got shut down by the Astros 8-1 to miss out on the sweep. The one run was a bit of a surprise against Hunter Brown because the Athletics have been potent at the plate and looking past just runs scored proves that. When looking at wRC+ over the last month, the usual suspects are up there in the top 10, i.e. Mets, Twins, Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, etc. but at the top of the list is Oakland and actually going back to May 1, they are ranked No. 8. The Angels come in red hot as they have won four straight games including a sweep of Seattle where they allowed just one run in all three of those games (Seattle is No. 23 in wRC+ since June 1) so the pitching has been outstanding. Prior to that was a series against Oakland where they went 1-2 and they allowed 26 runs in those three games so the pitching is dependent on who they are facing. Oakland is not great on the road but the angels are not a great home team with a 22-29 record. Ross Stripling started the season solid and then things went downhill, partially due to an injury. He has been sidelined since late May with a flexor strain and has been activated after three rehab starts. His maximum pitch count was 56 so he likely will not go long here and that is fine as the Oakland bullpen has been improving and faces an offense that is No. 28 in wRC+ since June 1. Kenny Rosenberg will be making his first start this season and just his fifth start ever and as mentioned, he will be facing a now potent offense. He was decent in Triple-A with a 3.74 ERA but he has a low K%. 10* (963) Oakland Athletics