Frank Sawyer

At 10:00 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing Mexico (234524)  minus the goal-line versus Canada (234523) in the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. THE SITUATION: Mexico (W3-D1-L0) advanced from the Quarterfinals with their 3-0 victory against Honduras on Saturday. Canada (W3-D0-L1) reached the Semifinals with their 2-0 victory against Costa Rica in the Quarterfinals on Sunday. This match is being played at NRG Stadium in Houston.

REASONS TO MEXICO MINUS THE GOAL-LINE: Canada is far from full strength in its attack. Manager John Herdman has lost forwards Cyle Larin and Aho Akinola to injury — forcing him to call up Orlando City forward Tesho Akindele to the squad before the Quarterfinals. To compound matters, Vancouver White Caps forward Lucas Cavallini is suspended for this match after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament in the Quarterfinal against Costa Rica. The Canucks were already without their two best offensive players in Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David who resumed their training in Europe for their professional clubs, Bayern Munich and Lille. To compound matters, Les Rouges are also without their center back Steven Vittoria who anchors their backline — and that is not a good sign for a defense that allowed all three of their Group Stage opponents to score. The Canadiens’ win against Costa Rica was against a Ticos side playing without their top goalkeeper who was suspended for the match. Mexico may have played their best match in the tournament with their 3-0 victory against an albeit depleted Honduras side dealing with a COVID outbreak. Despite only scoring four times in the Group Stage, the shot and possessions numbers were solid. And El Tri has a stout defense. They have yet to surrender a goal in this tournament. Mexico has not allowed a goal in their last seven matches after losing to the USMNT in the Finals of the CONCACAF Nations Cup last month.

FINAL TAKE: Mexico manager Gerardo “Tito” Martino has claimed winning this tournament is “an obligation.” While Canada is on the rise, El Tri remains the superior program who brought a better team to this event — and who have not been hit as hard by the injury and suspension bug. 10* CONCACAF Gold Cup Thursday Late Show Bailout with Mexico (234524)  minus the goal-line versus Canada (234523). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 10:10 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the San Diego Padres (962) minus the -1.5 Run-Line versus the Colorado Rockies (961) listing both starting pitchers Joe Musgrove and Kyle Freeland. THE SITUATION: San Diego (59-45) has lost three of their last four games after their 10-4 loss to Oakland yesterday. Colorado (44-58) has lost four of their last five games after their 8-7 loss at Los Angeles against the Angels yesterday.

REASONS TO TAKE THE PADRES MINUS THE -1.5 RUN-LINE: San Diego has won 5 of their last 7 games after a loss by six or more runs — and they have won 5 of their last 6 games after allowing at least five runs in their last game. The Padres have still won 26 of their last 36 games at home. They give the ball to Musgrove who is 6-7 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 19 starts (20 games). The left-hander sees his ERA drop to a 2.83 mark in his ten starts at home in Petco Park. San Diego has won 5 of their 7 games at home this season with Musgrove pitching with the Total set in the 7 to 8.5 range. He should thrive against this Rockies team that is scoring only 3.1 Runs-Per-Game away from Coors Field with a .210 Batting Average, .278 On-Base Percentage, and an OPS of .601. Colorado has lost 28 of their last 33 road games against right-handed starting pitchers. The Rockies have also lost 13 of their last 15 games after a loss by just one run — and they have lost 5 of their last 6 games after scoring at least five runs in their last game. Colorado has played three straight Overs — but they have lost 20 of their last 25 games after playing at least two straight Overs. They give the ball to Freeland who has a 1-5 record along with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 11 starts. The right-hander sees his ERA rise to a 5.10 mark in his six starts on the road. The Rockies have lost 18 of their last 22 games with Freeland pitching as a road dog.

FINAL TAKE: San Diego has covered the -1.5 Run-Line in 8 of their last 9 victories when priced higher than -150 — and Colorado has failed to cover the +1.5 Run-Line in 6 of their last 8 losses when priced as an underdog at +145 or higher. 25* MLB National League West Run-Line of the Month with the San Diego Padres (962) minus the -1.5 Run-Line versus the Colorado Rockies (961) listing both starting pitchers Joe Musgrove and Kyle Freeland. Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing Over the Total in the match between Qatar (234249) and the USMNT (234250) in the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. THE SITUATION: Qatar (W3-D1-L0) advanced to the Semifinals with their 3-2 win against El Salvador in the Quarterfinals on Saturday. The USMNT (W4-D0-L0) reached the Semifinals with their 1-0 win against Jamaica on Sunday. This match will be played at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.

REASONS TO TAKE OVER THE TOTAL: Qatar raced out to a 3-0 lead against El Salvador by the 55th minute of their match on Saturday — but they looked shaky on defense the rest of the way after allowing Joaquin Rivas to score twice in the five minute span before hanging on to win the match for the remaining 22 or so minutes. The Maroon was also exposed on defense by Haiti who rallied three times against them before both teams settled for a 3-3 draw in the Group Stage. Qatar has shut out their other two opponents in this tournament — and they registered clean sheets in six of their seven matches when winning the Asian Cup in 2019. So, what gives? The defining difference appears to be when manager Felix Sanchez’s team plays quality competition. In their last five matches against teams ranked in FIFA’s Top-50, Qatar has conceded at least one goal in six of those contests — this includes four friendlies and three matches in the Copa America 2019. Even in their 2-0 shutout win against Honduras in the Group Stage, they benefited from play a side without their best striker Alberth Eliss to injury before Romell Quioto left the match with an injury of his own. The USMNT ranks 20th in the world by FIFA. They have scored nine times in their four matches. The Stars and Stripes has scored in nine straight Gold Cup Semifinal matches — and they have scored at least two goals in six of their last eight Gold Cup Semifinal contests. While the Americans have conceded only once in this tournament, they will face their most potent attack tonight from a Qatar side that leads the tournament with 12 goals. It would be a mistake to underestimate the Maroon who are highly committed to their national team in preparation of their hosting the World Cup to close out 2022. Qatar was supposed to play in the more challenging Copa America this summer before a COVID outbreak changed their plans to get invited to this event.

FINAL TAKE: Both teams are used to fast starts — and that dictates tactics in the Knockout Stage. Qatar has scored in the first 25 minutes in three straight matches. The United States scored their first goal in the first 15 minutes in all three of their Group Stage matches. 10* CONCACAF Gold Cup Thursday Discounted O/U Deal with Over the Total in the match between Qatar (234249) and the USMNT (234250). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 10:00 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing Under the Total in the match between Canada (234523) and Mexico in the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. THE SITUATION: Canada (W3-D0-L1) reached the Semifinals with their 2-0 victory against Costa Rica in the Quarterfinals on Sunday. Mexico (W3-D1-L0) advanced from the Quarterfinals with their 3-0 victory against Honduras on Saturday. This match is being played at NRG Stadium in Houston.

REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: Let’s not read too much into the offensive assault by El Tri against a La Selecta side that was missing a handful of players (including a few starters) from a COVID outbreak. El Tri has struggled to generate goals in this tournament with only four goals in their three Group Stage matches — including three goals against a Guatemala side that was one of the minnows in this tournament. Scoring looked to be the biggest challenge for manager Gerardo Martino’s side with Raul Jimenez training for his return to Wolverhampton in the English Premier League. Martino could have turned to Javier Hernandez — but his ongoing personal feud with Chicharito appears to have played a role in the 33-year old not being invited to compete. Perhaps Martino wanted to use this event to embrace his younger players? But the plan was thwarted somewhat in their opening when Napoli forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano suffered a tournament-ending head injury. While the clinical scoring talent on this team is diminished, Mexico remains quite stout on defense. They have yet to surrender a goal in this tournament. El Tri has not allowed a goal in their last seven matches after losing to the USMNT in the Finals of the CONCACAF Nations Cup last month. Canada is far from full strength in its attack. Manager John Herdman has lost forwards Cyle Larin and Aho Akinola to injury — forcing him to call up Orlando City forward Tesho Akindele to the squad before the Quarterfinals. To compound matters, Vancouver White Caps forward Lucas Cavallini is suspended for this match after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament in the Quarterfinal against Costa Rica. The Canucks were already without their two best offensive players in Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David who resumed their training in Europe for their professional clubs, Bayern Munich and Lille. Herdman is likely to engage in defensive tactics with the hopes of eking out a low-scoring match — and he would happily take his chances with penalty kicks to resolve the match.

FINAL TAKE: Canada had allowed all three of their Group Stage opponents to score goals — but none of those teams registered more than once including the United States. They held Costa Rica to just five shots with none on target in what was likely a harbinger as to how they will attempt to play this match given their injuries. 25* CONCACAF Gold Cup Total of the Year with Under the Total in the match between Canada (234523) and Mexico (234524) in the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Best of luck for us — Frank.