10* Edmonton (7:00 ET): This is the first battle between these long-time provincial rivals since Edmonton was rechristened the Elks. It’s been a tough start for the 0-2 Elks, who have been outscored 85-31. But this sets up as a good “ambush” spot as Calgary, while 2-0, is going to be without RB Ka’Deem Carey and QB Bo Levi Mitchell is listed as questionable (game-time decision). The Stampeders could easily be 0-2 themselves right now as they needed 4Q comebacks to win both games. The two wins have been by a combined six points. So take the points Saturday night. 

Back in Week 1, the Stamps won 30-27 at home over Montreal, thanks to a last second field goal. They were down 10 points (24-14) at halftime. They lost the total yardage battle in that game, something that was also the case last week at Hamilton where they got outgained 499-378, only to once again escape with a victory by a three-point margin. Only this time they needed OT after rallying from an even bigger deficit. The Stamps trailed the Ti-Cats 17-0 after the 1Q and were still down 14 entering the 4Q. 

Now they won’t have Carey and his backup Peyton Logan also went down with an injury in the second half of last week’s game. Mitchell potentially being out potentially looms largest as he threw for 300+ yards in last week’s come from behind effort. I know Edmonton’s defense has had trouble stopping the run, but they get a huge break here with the injuries in Calgary’s starting backfield. While the Elks did get clobbered in Week 1 vs. BC, they were up going into the 4Q last week vs. Saskatchewan. Now set to face their biggest rival, this looks like a great opportunity to grab the points. Calgary is just 6-20-1 ATS its last 27 games as a favorite. 10* Edmonton

7* Arizona (10:10 ET): I’m quite willing to fade Detroit, a terrible team, off a win. The Tigers came here to Arizona and won Friday, by a score of 5-1, Only two teams have worse YTD run differentials (Oakland and Washington) and the Tigers are dead last offensively (2.9 runs per game). While they have been able to string together B2B wins three times in June, can’t see that happening here as they average only 2.5 runs per game on the road. Look for the host D’backs to bounce back on Saturday.

Now Arizona has lost four straight as they were swept in their last series, by San Diego. Managing only three hits last night was also not encouraging, but keep in mind it was an even game, save for Javy Baez’ grand slam in the third inning, which proved to be the difference. Detroit is unlikely to have one swing of the bat be that crucial tonight and the last home start from Zach Davies saw him give the D’backs seven shutout innings. Davies has gone at least six innings in each of his last four starts. 

Arizona has been in a bit of a slump offensively, but I think they’ll break out here against Alex Faedo, who has an 8.76 ERA and 1.946 WHIP his L3 starts. Faedo was seemingly off to a decent start to his rookie campaign, but has only gone a full six innings once and has just one win in nine starts. 7* Arizona

7* Kansas City (4:10 ET): The Royals aren’t going anywhere this season, but they certainly seem to have the A’s number this season (3-1 head to head) including a 3-1 victory in last night’s series opener. Oakland is one of the few teams below KC in my power ratings. I took a flier on them last night (+1.5) based on the fact they (seemingly) had the edge on the mound. That’s not the case here with Jared Koenig (6.58 ERA, 1.756 WHIP) opposing Brad Keller. Look for the Royals to win again on Saturday. 

Oakland is having an absolutely atrocious month. They’ve gone 3-17 the L20 games and are basically a lock at this point to finish last in the American League West. Incredibly, the offense has scored two runs or less in 8 of the last 10 games, never scoring more than four. They’ve scored just four runs total in the last four games and yesterday was the fifth time in seven games they were held to one run or less. Keller not only beat the A’s in his last start, but held them to just one hit over seven scoreless innings. 

Koenig’s two road starts have been disasters as he’s given up 10 runs in 8 IP. When he faced the Royals at home last week, he stepped up with 5 ⅔ scoreless frames of his own and the A’s actually got the 4-0 win. But the chances of Koenig beating the same opponent twice in row seem slim. Kansas City’s offense might not seem that reliable, but they actually have been hitting lefties pretty well at home this month and Koenig is a southpaw. Remember that it only took three runs to get the win last night and the Royals should certainly score more today. You can’t count on Oakland to score much at all. 7* Kansas City

6* Tampa Bay (1:10 ET): It was a little harder than anticipated for the Rays last night, but they still got the win, 4-3 over the Pirates. I anticipate this being a winning weekend for the home team. The Pirates are terrible (tied for third worst run differential) and are now coming off back to back extra inning games. While they’ve won four of six overall, three of those wins were against the Cubs. The Bucs have surpassed their win expectancy by five games, tied for most in the league. There’s a reason TB is such a big favorite in this one. 

The Rays have had mixed results here in June, but it should be pointed out that each of their last eight losses were by two runs or fewer and six of those came by exactly one run. So last night was a welcome reprieve. Corey Kluber gets the baseball Saturday and having allowed 3 ER or less in each of last five starts, he should easily handle this putrid Pirates lineup which is 28th in all of baseball in runs scored. On the road, Pittsburgh averages just 3.2 runs per game while batting a collective .214. 

Visitors average just 3.6 rpg with a .218 average here at Tropicana Field. So there’s a lot of pressure on Pirates’ starter JT Brubaker here. Brubaker did pitch quite well his last time out, but it was his first win of the season (in 14 starts!) and the team is 2-6 when he starts on the road. This is a place where - until yesterday - Pittsburgh hadn’t played since 2014. I just feel that the Rays are due to break out and their 8-1 record vs. National League teams this season makes them all the more appealing. 6* Tampa Bay

7* Run Line Houston (1:05 ET): Please note that this is a run line play only where I am backing the Astros +1.5. The Astros won last night, 3-1, as a slight underdog. That was after they should have won Thursday’s opener. They led that game 6-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, when Aaron Judge was able to win it for the Pinstripes. Houston finished with an 11-6 edge in hits, however. Yes, this is the feared Yankees we’re fading (at home), but it’s a tremendous value on the Astros, who are the second best team in the American League and would have cashed on the RL both games in the series. Take the +1.5. 

Don’t be fooled by Cristian Javier’s 5-4 TSR or seemingly mediocre ERA & WHIP. Javier has allowed 2 ER or less in seven of nine starts this season and has an xBA (expected batting average allowed) of .204. The Yankees have only 11 hits in this series so far and actually haven’t topped seven hits in any of their last five games. With Javier on the mound, the Astros are absolutely capable of being the first team to hand the Yanks B2B losses this month. 

Houston is also 24-15 on the road this season and 16-8 in day games. They’ll face Gerrit Cole on Saturday. Cole is a tough matchup and was spectacular his last time out. But he’s going against a tough lineup here. Cole has been roughed up a couple of times in 2022, including when he gave up seven runs in just 2 ⅓ innings to the Twins earlier this month. Another thing that must be considered is the Astros have the edge in the bullpen in this matchup. All things considered, having an extra 1.5 runs “in our back pocket” is the right way to play this matchup. 7* Run Line Houston (+1.5)