Jun 5, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher James Paxton (65) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a Sunday in July, and that’s when the pangs for football really begin to surface. Those light Sunday schedules in the sports world when the temperatures are ridiculously hot aren’t the best combination.

There is a full slate of baseball, and it sounds crazy to say the Pittsburgh Pirates are looking for their seventh straight win. They’ve pushed around the MLB-best Philadelphia Phillies the past two days.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are attempting to sweep the Boston Red Sox on the Sunday night stage. And how about the Oakland Athletics? An average of 13 runs over the past three games. Break up the Athletics! (Or move the team).

Get your helmets on—the race car type—as we nervously take a look at the Brickyard 400.

BOSTON RED SOX VS. LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Dodgers left-hander James Paxton has always fared well against the Red Sox, going 6-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 career starts. He spent last season with Boston and went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts while missing time with hamstring and knee injuries.

Paxton has been able to stay healthy this season. He is 7-2 with a 4.38 ERA in 17 starts and has a chance to reach double digits in victories for the first time since 2019, when he won 15 games for the New York Yankees.

On Saturday, the Dodgers rallied in the ninth and 10th innings to tie the score and eventually won 7-6 in 11 innings. Boston’s Tyler O’Neill hit two homers and is 5-for-9 in the series.

Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (6-7, 3.04) is the man to ride here. He has allowed one run in 20 innings while winning his last three starts.

Red Sox moneyline, +102 (DraftKings)

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LOS ANGELES ANGELS VS. OAKLAND ATHLETICS

The Oakland Athletics might be one of the worst teams in the majors, but they resemble their 1970s powerhouse teams when they host the Los Angeles Angels. It’s almost as if Campy Campaneris, Sal Bando, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers are secretly playing for Oakland.

Whatever the formula, Oakland is 5-0 at home this season against the Angels while outscoring them 38-10. Overall, Oakland has won eight straight home games versus the Angels, dating back to a series last September, by a 51-19 margin. The Athletics have pounded the Angels 13-3 and 8-2 in this series. Counting its final game before the All-Star, Oakland has scored 39 runs in three games, beginning with 18 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

And if getting pounded by the bats isn’t discouraging enough for the Angels, here comes Joey Estes to the mound. The right-hander tossed a five-hit shutout against Los Angeles at The Coliseum on July 3, though the Angels did beat hit seven days earlier in Anaheim.

Carson Fulmer starts for the Angels, and after the past two games, here’s some advice for him: Duck! Los Angeles pitching has had zero answers on how to slow down the A’s in Oakland, and the Athletics should finish off the sweep on Sunday.

Athletics -1.5 run line, +150 (DraftKings)

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BRICKYARD 400 AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Tyler Reddick (+450 to win) earned the pole during Saturday’s qualifying, and Denny Hamlin (+450) and Chase Elliott (+1100) hold the next two spots. Reddick’s winning time was a blistering 49.469 seconds.

I still can’t think of Hamlin without remembering that in 2020, during the pandemic, he was forced out of an eNASCAR race in a very odd way. Hamlin’s virtual competition suddenly ended because his daughter Taylor, then 7, turned off his monitor with the remote control. Guess that beats crashing into a wall.

Kyle Larson (+550), William Byron (+900) and Ryan Blaney (+1100) are also among the top six favorites. Blaney won last week’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway after also taking the checkered flag for the Iowa Corn 350 in mid-June.

Hamlin placed second at Pocono, and Byron (fourth) also had a top-five finish. Alex Bowman (+2000) was third at Pocono and Joey Logano (+1800) was fifth. Those two would give you bigger bang for your buck with the higher odds.

Denny Hamlin to win, +450, (DraftKings)