Frank Sawyer of Hollywood Sports Reviewed

At 8:30 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing Under the Total in the match between Nicaragua (234213) and Costa Rica (234214). THE SITUATION: Costa Rica (0-0-0) the first CONCACAF Gold Cup match ever to be played on their home soil. Los Ticos finished 0-1-2 in their three Group Stage matches in last summer’s World Cup. Costa Rica reached the Semifinals of the 2017 Gold Cup before losing to the USMNT. Nicaragua (0-0-0) plays in their first international tournament sine that 2017 Gold Cup where they lost all three of their matches in Group Stage play.

REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: Costa Rica is one of the favorites to win this year’s tournament — and they are the dominant team in Group B. Los Ticos are led by an MLS-heavy defensive group that is quality tacticians on the international stage. The 6’5 defender, Kendall Watson, is key to their success with his size providing La Sele an aerial defensive presence as well as a strong tackler. Costa Rica allowed five goals in their three World Cup matches last year — but they were in a challenging group led by the powerful Brazil side along with two upstarts in Switzerland and Serbia. The problem for this team last summer was the lacking of a scoring punch as they scored only two goals (against the Swiss) after suffering two clean sheets in their first two matches. Gustavo Matosas is the new manager this year — but they are just 1-0-3 in the four friendlies under his leadership. They have scored only one goal in those four matches in a win against the defensive-minded Jamaican side. This side lacks creativity on the offensive end of the pitch right now. Getting too cute now would be a disaster for Los Ticos against an overmatched Nicaraguan side — especially when playing at home. Expect a conservative game plan where veterans like Joel Campbell or Bryan Ruiz should eventually get Costa Rica on the scoreboard. Nicaragua is unlikely to threaten with many scoring opportunities. The Pinoleros privilege defensive tactics with the hope that their captain, Juan Barrera, can find scoring opportunities in the counter-attack. Nicaragua has scored only one goal in their six matches ever played in Gold Cup competitions. And in the twelve previous meetings between these two nations, the Pinoleros have scored only eight times. All three of their matches in the 2017 Gold Cup did not see more than three combined goals scored. In their last five matches, Nicaragua has scored only four times with two of those goals occurring in a 2-2 draw with Bolivia back on March 3rd in a friendly.

FINAL TAKE: Costa Rica will not have their veteran superstar goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, this summer with his status with Real Madrid up in the air. Los Ticos did not have Navas in the 2017 Gold Cup either but that did not slow this side down against North American competition. A clean sheet is highly likely for Costa Rica tonight — but they are not likely to score more than two goals (and certainly not three goals which would Push the most common Total of 3). 25* CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B Total of the Year with Under the Total in the match between Nicaragua (234213) and Costa Rica (234214). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 7:00 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing Under the Total in the game between the Las Vegas Aces (637) and the Minnesota Lynx (638). THE SITUATION: Las Vegas (3-3) enters this game looking to build off their 100-65 blowout victory over New York on Friday as a 13-point favorite at home. Minnesota (4-4) has lost three straight games after their 85-81 loss at home to Connecticut as a 5.5-point underdog.

REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: The Aces have played 15 of their last 21 games Under the Total after a game where at least 165 combined points were scored. With LeBron James, James Harden, and Chris Paul watching courtside Las Vegas made 67% of their shots in the first half as they put on a show — and the 54.1% field goal percentage they ended the game with was their highest mark of the season. But the Aces go back on the road where they are shooting just 42.0% from the field. Las Vegas has played 9 of their last 13 games Under the Total on the road. The Under is also 3-1-1 in their last 5 games when playing with one day of rest. Despite their offensive explosion on Friday, the calling card for head coach Bill Laimbeer’s team is defense — just like his old Pistons’ team — as the Aces have held their last five opponents to only 37.7% shooting. Las Vegas has played 10 of their last 12 games Under the Total as the favorite. Minnesota has played 14 of their last 19 games Under the Total after scoring at least 80 points in their last game. The Lynx have also played 12 of their last 16 games Under the Total after allowing at least 80 points in their last contest. Minnesota has played 5 straight games Under the Total after a point spread win. They made only 43.3% of their shots in their loss on Friday — but that was still tied for their best shooting mark in their last four games. The Lynx will be looking to play better on defense after allowing Connecticut to make 50% of their shots. Minnesota should play better on the defensive end of the court tonight where they limit their opponents to 41.4% shooting which translates into 72.4 PPG. The Lynx have played 17 of their last 24 games Under the Total when playing with one day of rest — and they have played 19 of their last 26 games Under the Total against Western Conference opponents.

FINAL TAKE: These team trends are supported by a historical angle that has been 69% effective since 1997. Las Vegas is outscoring their opponents by +8.9 PPG — and in games with the Total set at 140 or higher, when the road team is outscoring their opponents by at least +6.0 PPG and they are facing a home team that comes off a narrow loss by 5 points or less, these games finished Under the Total in 50 of these last 73 situations. 10* WNBA Sunday Night Discounted Deal with Under the Total in the game between the Las Vegas Aces (637) and the Minnesota Lynx (638). Best of luck for us — Frank.

Take Over the Total in the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers listing both starting pitchers Jose Quintana and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Chicago (39-31) looks for a split of this series tonight after winning Game Three yesterday by a 2-1 score. Despite the low score yesterday, the Cubs have played 5 of their last 6 games Over the Total against teams that did not score more than two runs in their last game. Chicago has also played 11 of their last 15 road games Over the Total against teams with a winning percentage over 60% at home. Los Angeles (47-24) has played 5 of their last 7 games Over the Total after a loss. And in their last 17 games against teams with a winning record, the Dodgers have seen the Over go 11-4-2. Take the Over while listing both starting pitchers. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports lost their 25* MLB Run-Line play on Texas this afternoon — but they remain on a 14 of 20 (70%) MLB Game of the Month/Year run! Frank is STILL ON FIRE in MLB with a 9 of 11 (90%) MLB HOT STREAK that has continued his RED HOT 31 of 44 (70%) MLB run along with a 67 of 106 (63%) long-term MLB mark! Frank is still on a 10 of 14 (71%) MLB Run-Line clip along with a longer-term 9 of 13 (69%) MLB Run-Line mark with his highest-rated 25* plays — and he closes out his Sunday card for the Cubs-Dodgers showdown for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. With LA priced above his -150 threshold, Frank will not consider the favorite or the underdog in a straight-up money-line play but it does make the Run-Line options very enticing — and he likes one side with the Run-Line SO MUCH that is his 25* MLB Pre-All Star Break Sunday ESPN Run-Line of the Year for the first half of the regular season prior to the All-Star Break! DO NOT MISS OUT!

At 7:05 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing the Los Angeles Dodgers (914) minus the -1.5 Run-Line versus the Chicago Cubs (913) listing both starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Jose Quintana. THE SITUATION: Chicago (39-31) had lost four of their last five games before they eked out the third game of this series yesterday with their 2-1 victory over Los Angeles. The Dodgers (47-24) won the first two games of this series.

REASONS TO TAKE THE DODGERS MINUS THE -1.5 RUN-LINE: The Cubs did not commit an error for the fourth straight game yesterday — but they have then lost 10 of their last 15 games after not committing an error in at least two straight games. Chicago remains a troubling 15-20 on the road this season. The Cubs have lost 7 of their last 9 games on the road — and they have lost 9 of their last 13 road games against teams with a winning percentage over 60% at home. Additionally, Chicago has lost 8 of their last 10 road games when an underdog priced at least at +150. They give the ball to Quintana who is 4-6 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP this season in thirteen games (fourteen appearances). The deeper sabermetrics are troubling for the left-hander. For starters, his hard-hit rate stands at 37.8% of the batted-balls he is allowing into play which is the highest of his career after last year’s high of 33.5%. Quintana has been at his best when he is not walking batters while inducing lightly hit fly balls. But he walked four batters in 4 2/3 innings of work in his last start. Quintana’s fly ball rate to his lowest since 2015 while his decision to trust his infield has led to a ground ball rate of the balls he is allowing into play of 47.3% which is the highest in his career. His strikeout rate of 20.8% of the batters he faces is also his lowest since 2015. The lefty is throwing first ball strikes while increasing the use of his sinker — but both his SIERA and xFIP project an ERA of 4.41 and 4.14 moving forward based off his peripheral numbers. Quintana has done his best pitching at home in Wrigley Field where he enjoys a 2.98 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .238 in seven starts — but those numbers skyrocket to a 5.13 ERA with a 1.53 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .281 when he is on the road. The Cubs have lost 9 of their last 12 road games with Quintana on the hill. He faces a Dodgers team that is scoring 5.6 Runs-Per-Game at home with a .280 batting average along with a .353 On-Base Percentage and an OPS of .856. Los Angeles has won 5 of their last 6 games against left-handed starting pitchers. The Dodgers have also won 13 of their last 16 games against starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher. Los Angeles has won 9 of their last 11 games after a game where no more than four combined runs were scored. Furthermore, the Dodgers have won 51 of their last 76 games after a loss — and they have won 37 of their last 51 games after failing to score more than two runs in their last game. LA has also still won an incredible 21 of their last 26 games against teams with a winning record — and they have won 18 of their last 22 games after playing their last three games at home. While the fact that the Dodgers have won 23 of their last 28 home games when priced at least at -150 might compel most bettors to take their chances investing in the higher price, that would be the less profitable path this season. Los Angeles has been a home favorite priced above my -150 threshold 29 times this season — and they have won 21 of those games by more than one run to produce a much better yield overall. They count on Ryu tonight who is enjoying a sensational season with his 9-1 record along with a 1.36 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in thirteen starts. The issue for the left-hander has been more about durability than overall talent. Ryu enters this game with an eye-popping 77:5 strikeout to walk ratio in 80 innings of work. Led by one of the best changeups in baseball, Ryu has been nearly unhittable at home where he has a 1.01 ERA with a 0.65 WHIP and .172 opponent’s batting average in six starts. We have to expect some regression is inevitable with gaudy numbers like that — but remember that Ryu had a 1.97 ERA last year overall with 1.15 ERA at home along with a 0.90 WHIP and .212 opponent’s batting average so his spectacular 2019 did not come out of nowhere. The Dodgers have won 39 of their last 55 home games with Ryu on the hill including all six this season. LA has also won 5 straight home games with Ryu facing a team with a winning record. And in his last 26 starts when priced as a favorite at -150 or higher, the Dodgers have won 21 of those games. He faces a Cubs team that has lost 5 of their last 7 road games against left-handed starting pitchers — and they have also lost 7 of their last 9 games against starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.15 or lower.

FINAL TAKE: Los Angeles has won 8 of their last 10 games when avenging an upset loss as a home favorite to their opponent. The Cubs have still lost 9 of their last 12 games in Dodger Stadium against the men in blue. Rather than paying the higher price on LA, the recent history makes it clear that the better investment is to lower the price by laying the -1.5 Run-Line. 25* MLB Pre-All Star Break Sunday ESPN Run-Line of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers (914) minus the -1.5 Run-Line versus the Chicago Cubs (913) listing both starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Jose Quintana. Best of luck for us — Frank.

Take the Cleveland Indians with the money-line versus the Detroit Tigers listing both starting pitchers Trevor Bauer and Spencer Turnbull. Cleveland (36-33) has won five of their last seven games after winning the first two games of this series with their 4-2 win over the Tigers. The Indians have won 11 of their last 16 games after not allowing more than two runs in their last game. Cleveland has also won 48 of their last 70 games against teams with a winning percentage below 40%. Detroit (25-42) has lost 16 of their last 21 games after a loss. The Tigers have also lost 36 of their last 52 games at home. Take Cleveland with the money-line. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports EASILY DELIVERED their 25* MLB Pre-All Star Break AL West Total of the Year yesterday with the Seattle-Oakland Over to improve their 14 of 19 (74%) MLB Game of the Month/Year mark! Frank is ON FIRE in MLB yesterday’s 2-0 MLB SWEEP furthering his NEAR PERFECT 9 of 10 (90%) MLB run which continues his RED HOT 31 of 43 (74%) MLB run along with a 67 of 105 (64%) long-term MLB mark! Frank is also on a 10 of 13 (77%) MLB Run-Line clip along with a longer-term 9 of 12 (75%) MLB Run-Line mark with his highest-rated 25* plays — and now Frank spots an OUTSTANDING $$ OPPORTUNITY with a situation where the favorite is priced over his -150 threshold which makes this LIVE DOG EVEN MORE ENTICING with a lower priced +1.5 Run-Line! It’s Frank’s 25* MLB Run-Line Underdog of the Year for the first half of the regular season prior to the All-Star Break — DO NOT DARE MISS OUT!

At 1:10 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing the Texas Rangers (929) plus the +1.5 Run-Line versus the Cincinnati Reds (930) listing both starting pitchers Ariel Jurado and Sonny Gray. THE SITUATION: Texas (38-32) has won the first two games of this series — as well as six of their last nine contests — after taking Game Two of this series yesterday by a 4-3 score. Cincinnati (30-38) has now lost six of their last eight games.

REASONS TO TAKE THE RANGERS PLUS THE +1.5 RUN-LINE: Texas has now won 6 of their last 8 games on the road — and they have won 4 straight road games against teams with a losing record. Additionally, the Rangers have now won 4 straight games against teams with a losing record — and they have won 5 of their last 6 games in Interleague play. This team is big money-line underdogs due to the betting public’s lack of faith in Jurado despite his 4-2 record along with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 41 2/3 innings in fourteen appearances including five starts this season. The 23-year-old right-hander has rattled off four straight Quality Starts due in large part because he is inducing ground balls in 50.8% of the batted balls he is allowing into play. While not a phenom, Jurado has always been an intriguing prospect given his career 53% ground ball rate in the minor leagues allow with a sub-2.0 walks per 9 innings rate. Improved velocity this season has helped improve the effectiveness of his sinker. Jurado has also been more effective on the road where he has a 2.95 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .244 in 21 1/3 innings which includes two starts as opposed to his 3.10 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and .263 opponent’s batting average at home. Jurado comes off a solid start in Boston where he allowed three runs on just five hits in 6 innings of work. The Rangers have won 4 of their last 5 games with Jurado looking to follow up a Quality Start. He faces a slumping Reds lineup that is scoring only 2.7 Runs-Per-Game over their last seven games with a .199 batting average along with a .275 On-Base Percentage and an OPS of .625 over that span. Cincinnati has lost 7 of their last 9 games against right-handed starting pitchers. The Reds have also lost 7 of their last 10 third games in a series after losing the first two games. Additionally, Cincinnati has lost 4 straight games at home as well as 6 of their last 8 games against teams with a winning record. And in their last 30 games played in the day, the Reds have lost 21 of these games. They counter with Gray who is 2-5 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in thirteen starts. The right-hander has not been as effective at home where his ERA rises to a 4.09 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .252 in seven starts in the Great American Ballpark as compared to his 3.21 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and .198 opponent’s batting average on the road. Gray also sees his ERA rise to a 3.81 mark in his six starts during the day — and the Cincy has lost 4 of their last 6 day games with Gray on the hill.

FINAL TAKE: The Rangers’ bats should keep them competitive in this game as they are scoring 6.0 Runs-Per-Game against right-handed starting pitchers with a .270 batting average along with a .338 On-Base Percentage and an OPS of .817. Texas has won 13 of their last 18 games against right-handed starting pitchers. With the Reds being a money-line favorite priced in the -170 range, that lowers the price on the Rangers getting the valuable +1.5 Run-Line below my -150 price threshold. Let’s attack! 25* MLB Pre-All Star Break Run-Line Underdog of the Year with the Texas Rangers (929) plus the +1.5 Run-Line versus the Cincinnati Reds (930) listing both starting pitchers Ariel Jurado and Sonny Gray. Best of luck for us — Frank.