William Burns

(#972) Atlanta Braves // ML //.

Charlie Morton (4-7, 5.63 ERA) vs. Spencer Strider (3-6, 3.86 ERA) .

While he's had a couple of strong showings this season, it has definitely not been Charlie Morton's brightest campaign here in 2025. He's got very inflated numbers and I don't see him faring too well against the Braves on Friday evening. Note that the Orioles are the team with the worst record in the American League East Division at the moment.

On the other hand, Atlanta is in desperate need for wins. This is a series that the Braves need to take advantage of and I believe that they've got the right man on the mound here this evening. Spencer Strider might only have a .333 win percentage this season. But, he's got much better stats than the O's starter and I expect him to pitch tremendously this evening. Give me the Braves at home on Friday.

Burns' Prediction: 5-2 Braves.

(#977) Kansas City Royals @ (#978) Arizona Diamondbacks // UNDER //.

Kris Bubic (6-6, 2.25 ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.13 ERA).

All season long, Kris Bubic has amazed me. Just a few seasons ago, he was one of the worst pitchers going. He simply just stuck to the process of being a big leaguer and his numbers have improved drastically. Since last year when he was a bullpen arm, he's had some of the league's best stats and it's all due to his ability to limit baserunners and strike out opposing hitters. Now, he's back to being a full-time starter and an excellent one at that.

On the other hand, Eduardo Rodriguez is still trying to figure things out, and has been ever since he joined the Diamondbacks. However, even though his numbers may not look amazing, he has been significantly better as of late and might be doing just that (figuring things out.) As a matter of fact, he's allowed only a run over his past couple of outings and has gone fairly deep in both of those games. Let's not forget that he was one of the best arms in the MLB in 2023 with the Tigers.

Even though this doesn't really seem like a high level pitching matchup from just looking at the names of the starting pitcher standpoint, I believe that this is a perfect opportunity to jump all over the "under." Both arms are pitching great at the moment and this happens to be my BIGGEST TOTAL OF THE SEASON.

Burns' Prediction: 3-1 Diamondbacks.

(#8696) Elina Svitolina // ML //.

Two ranked players matching up in the 3rd round (Round of 32) of a Major is never fun. Having said that, I believe that the better player is the favorite in this encounter and for good reason. However, I'm surprised that she's not favored by more. Svitolina beat Mertens on the grass in Germany just two weeks ago. That match did not go to a third set and the Ukrainian felt very good in her play. Now, even though Svitolina lost her next match after that, just beating Mertens a short time ago should give her the confidence to do it again on Friday. Mertens is the slightly bigger player that likes to use her power. But, Svitolina does an excellent job of mixing up her tactics and that should be enough to get to the Round of 16. Give me the #13 ranked player in the world.

Burns' Prediction: 6-4, 7-6 Svitolina.

(#8217) Nicolas Jarry vs. (#8218) Joao Fonseca // OVER //.

Even though this total is extremely high, I believe that it's for good reason. Nicolas Jarry is playing extremely well on the Wimbledon grass, and has played some phenomenal tennis over the past week already. That being said, it's going to be very difficult for him to knock off the rising Brazilian star. Having said that, he's shown that he's capable of coming back from down a set or two already in this tournament as he's came back from down two sets to love against Holger Rune already. Fonseca likes to get into longer rallies and will try to wear the Chilean down. I believe that this matchup stylistically will favor a longer match and therefore, I've got the "over" on Friday in Round 3.

Burns' Prediction: 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 Fonseca.