William Burns Handicapper Reviews & Picks

(#969) Toronto Blue Jays | ML | .

Dylan Cease (10-5, 2.25 ERA) vs. Jacob Lopez (6-4, 4.71 ERA) .

Coming into Monday's contest, the Blue Jays are just a single game out of the final wildcard position. With three weeks remaining in the season, the every single game is as important as ever for the defending AL Pennant winners. Dylan Cease, who was the AL starter in the all-star game this year, gets the nod in this one. He's having a phenomenal campaign, striking out opponents left right and & center.

On the other hand, Jacob Lopez might have a winning record. However, he's been below average in terms of runs allowed this season and he's really struggled against Toronto over the course of his career. As a matter of fact, he owns a 10.50 ERA in three appearances vs. the Jays. I'm on the favorites to win big in this one.

Burns' Prediction: 8-2 Blue Jays.

(#8737) Iga Świątek | Set Spread (ATS) | .

Defending olympic gold medalist (2024,) Qinwen Zheng, suffered a severe right elbow injury last year, dropping outside of the top 100. While she used to be one of the best in the game, Zheng hasn't really gotten back to herself other than so far during this tournament. That being said, she's coming off a ridiculous comeback from down 0-5 in the 3rd set of her last match & I don't believe that she's going to have enough energy left in her (having played in four 3-setters already) going up against a surging Iga Swiatek.

No, it hasn't been the best of seasons for the 2022 US Open champ. But, she's been looking more and more like herself over the past couple of months now. Swiatek has won all three of her matches in straight sets so far and looks to be on a mission to continue to dominance into the Quarters. Iga is 7-1 all-time against Zheng including a straight sets win in the most recent meeting. Expect another one of those on Monday.

Burns' Prediction: 6-3, 6-4 Swiatek .