**8** MLB POWER PLAY **GAME OF THE MONTH** The wrong team is favored in this game. San Diego is 22-16 at home this season while Houston is a game under .500 on the road at 17-18. The home/road splits do not dictate this line obviously so it must come down to the starting pitching matchup but that is not the case either. Wandy Rodriguez had a great start to the season but it has been all downhill since. He had a 1.71 ERA after his first 10 starts of the season but over his last six outings, he has posted a putrid 4.62 ERA. Part of the reason has been some rough road performances and it shows in his overall splits. He has a 2.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in eight home starts but in eight road starts, he has a 4.23 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. Those are drastic differences. Kevin Correia has been pitching just the opposite. He has put together five straight quality starts which has lowered his ERA from 5.37 to 4.23. According to the MLB pitching capsules, over his last five outings Correia is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA and over that stretch, he has a 29-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and opponents are hitting .155 against him. At home, he has a 4.10 ERA which is decent but most importantly, the Padres are 6-3 in his nine starts at Petco Park. He has not defeated the Astros in two career starts but both were quality performances and he has a 3.06 ERA in six total appearances. The Padres also fall into a great situation. Play against road teams that are batting .250 or worse over their last 20 games and going up against a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.00 or better over his last five starts. This situation is 118-41 (74.2 percent) over the last five seasons. Making this situation really special is that the average line on the play on team in those 159 games was -147, which is a hefty favorite and we get this number as an underdog. 8* San Diego Padres

**8** WNBA SUPREME ANNIHILATOR **4-0 RUN** Connecticut is a popular WNBA team and even when average, we tend to get line value when playing against the Sun. That is the case tonight as this one sets up perfectly for a home blowout by Indiana. Connecticut has won three straight games but all three of those games came at home and all were against less than stellar competition. On the season, the Sun have played five home games and only two road games and this will be first time they have traveled since June 16th and that is a huge layoff from the road. After starting the season 0-2, Indiana has reeled off six straight wins with the majority of those not being even close. Indiana is lighting it up from long range and that is important here as Connecticut does bring in a solid perimeter defense. Indiana went 9-20 (45.0 percent) from three-point range Saturday in its win over New York and it was the fourth time during their winning streak the Fever made nine three-pointers. Indiana is hitting 38.1 percent from long range over its last five games compared to just 29.8 percent for Connecticut over the same stretch. The Fever also have a solid edge in the all-important free throw shooting category as they are hitting 80.8 percent on the season which is 2nd in the league. We often go against WNBA teams that are playing a lot of games in a lot of days but sometimes just the opposite hold true and that is to play against teams that have played sparsely. Connecticut has played only one game in the last 11 days and while that means it will be fresh, it also means it will be rusty and kill any momentum is currently has. This sets up a great situation for the Fever. Play against road underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points after having won four or five of their last six games and playing five or less games in 14 days. This situation is 42-17 ATS (71.2 percent) over the last five seasons. 8* Indiana Fever

I am taking a shot with the Phillies on Thursday to avoid the sweep in Atlanta. Despite dropping the first two games of this series, Philadelphia is still 26-14 on the road which is the best record away from home in the Majors. It cannot come away with a winning roadtrip but if nothing else, it wants to head into the huge weekend series with the Mets on a winning note. The Braves are hanging around in the division only because no team is taking change. Atlanta is still three games under .500 for the season including a game under .500 at home. Last night, Jair Jurrjens took a no-hitter into the seventh inning so we are not likely to see another pitching performance similar to that tonight. The Braves go with Javier Vazquez who is having a solid season with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP though 16 starts. Those numbers are meaningless however as the Braves are only 6-10 in those games including losses in six of his last seven starts. Also, they are just 3-6 in the nine home games that Vazquez has toed the rubber. He has ad good success against the Phillies of late but all of his starts have come in Philadelphia. He will be opposed by J.A. Happ who is having a very good season as well. He has tossed two straight quality starts including his best game of the season, a five-hit shutout at Toronto in his last outing. He has been great on the road, posting a 1.67 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in four starts and five relief appearances. Three of those four starts have been quality performances. He finished last season by pitching against the Braves twice and put together two great games, both being quality and together resulting in a 1.42 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. Both also ended up being Phillies victories. The Phillies fall into a very good underdog contrarian situation as well. Play on road teams between +125 and -125 that are hitting.240 or worse over their last 10 games and going up against a starting pitcher whose ERA is less than 3.00 over his last 10 games. This situation is 60-36 (62.5 percent) since 1997 and with it being an average underdog situation, the results are even better. 3* Philadelphia Phillies

July started the same way June ended and that was with an absolutely horrible beat as +145 Baltimore blew a 5-1 ninth inning lead and lost in extra innings. Those games are tough to overcome but we move forward with the TOP RATED JULY POWER PLAY! Join Fargo in the afternoon with a win backed by a SOLID 118-41 (74.2%) Power Situation! Get on this now as we turn it around!