This is a play on the OAKLAND A'S as part of our MLB Friday Triple Play. Oakland closed the first half on a 21-6 run to get back into the playoff picture. While they might not catch Houston in the American League West as they are eight games back, they are just three games behind Seattle in the American League Wild Card. San Francisco is also in the Wild Card mix as it is four games out of the second spot, but the road has been an issue all season. The Giants are 31-19 at home but on the road it is close to a reversal as they are 19-29 and most recently, they have lost 21 of their last 31 road games. It might be a risky proposition betting on journeyman Edwin Jackson, but he has been solid with a 2.59 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in four starts. This includes two great outings against Cleveland and shutting down San Francisco last time out. Dereck Rodriguez has been nearly as good, but he comes in with a poor 1.58 WHIP on the road. Here, we play against National League road underdogs that are hitting .255 or worse and with a starting pitcher who has an ERA of less than 2.50 over his last five starts going up against an American League starting pitcher who has an ERA of 4.20 or better. This situation is 46-10 (82.1 percent) since 1997. 10* (930) Oakland A's

This is a play on the MINNESOTA TWINS as part of our MLB Friday Triple Play. It has been an up and down season for Minnesota, but it went 9-2 over its last 11 games before the All Star Break and while the Twins are six games under .500, they are still a manageable 7.5 games behind Cleveland in the American League Central. They can keep the run going as their first six games are out of the break are against losing teams and going back, the Twins are 7-1 in their last eight games against teams with a winning percentage below .400. Kansas City is fighting it out with Baltimore for the worst record in baseball and its 11-35 record at home is by far the worst. Danny Duffy gets the ball for Kansas City and he closed the first half with a pair of shutout performances, tossing 13 scoreless inning against the Twins and White Sox. The problem is, those games were on the road where he has a solid 3.54 ERA and 1.38 WHIP but his work at home has been atrocious with a 6.75 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. He has allowed six runs in each of his last two home starts. Kyle Gibson has been similar as he has been much better on the road with a 2.84 ERA and 1.11 WHIP compared to a 3.99 ERA and 1.35 WHIP at home, albeit, the latter is still pretty good. 9* (919) Minnesota Twins

This is a play on the PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES as part of our MLB Friday Triple Play. Philadelphia closed the first half with a pair of disappointing losses at Miami and it is now back home after spending the last 10 days before the All Star Break on the road. This is the first home game for the Phillies since July 4th where they are 30-16, one of only seven teams with at least 30 home wins and are currently on a four-game winning streak. The Padres closed on a five-game skid and hold down the worst record in the National League so the fact they traded their closer during the break comes as no surprise. San Diego has lost 21 of its last 27 games including 11 of its last 15 on the road. Clayton Richard has had a decent season with a 4.43 ERA and 1.31 WHIP but most of his success has come at pitcher-friendly Petco Park where he has a 3.77 ERA compared to a 5.04 ERA on the road. The Phillies are 17-6 in their last 23 home games against left-handed starters. Jake Arietta had a horrible month of June with a 6.66 ERA in five starts but the rest of the season has been great as he has a 2.09 ERA in his other 13 outings. He has been at his best at home with a 2.53 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in nine starts. 8* (906) Philadelphia Phillies

This is a play on the OTTAWA REDBLACKS for our CFL Friday Enforcer. Ottawa is coming off a humbling loss last week against Calgary, its second loss to the Stampeders this season, but it has dominated its other two games and we expect a big rebound tonight. The RedBlacks were outgained by 214 total yards and they managed only three points, their lowest point total since August of 2015, which also happened to come against Calgary. The 150-yard offensive output against Calgary was the lowest in team history over 76 games since rejoining the league in 2014. Going back, Ottawa is 16-4 ATS in its last 20 games after gaining 275 or less total yards in its previous game. B.C. meanwhile came back from a 17-0 half-time deficit to win 20-17 on a walk-off field goal in front of their home crowd against Winnipeg last week. The Lions are now 2-2 on the season, winning both games at home and losing both games on the road, but the one consistent is that they have been outgained in all four games thus far. Ottawa running back William Powell is third in the CFL with 372 rushing yards, averaging 5.9 ypc, despite getting shut down last week. That should prove to be another tough test for the B.C. run defense after they allowed Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris to eclipse the 100-yard mark in back to back meetings, and overall, the Lions are dead last in the league allowing 152 rushing ypg. Making matters worse, B.C. will be without its defensive leader as Solomon Elimimian was placed on the six-game injured list with a wrist injury. His 26 defensive tackles rank him fourth in the league so far this season after amassing 274 tackles over the previous two seasons. 10* (374) Ottawa RedBlacks