MLB Best Bets for Monday, August 23, 2021
Sunday started great, ended badly. Today we have a fresh set of series to play. Let’s get to it with our three best plays for Monday.
White Sox vs. Toronto
You’re not going to find Lance Lynn at -108 very often, but that’s what his line is tonight against the Blue Jays. I’m thinking this is mostly because Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, and Adam Engel are all on the injured list, because Lynn has been stellar all season and will win the Cy Young award. Alek Manoah is lights out at home for the Blue Jays. He has a 1.91 ERA and has given up just two earned runs in his last 25 innings pitched at home. I’m playing this first five innings under 4.5 runs at -115. I’m comfortable playing the game under 8.5 runs for the game too. (Be cautious, both teams can put up five-run innings with ease.)
Rockies vs. Cubs
The Cubs suck. The Rockies suck. We can still make money. The beauty of gambling makes it so that games that you’d normally not ever touch, you have some interest in to make a little scratch. Kyle Hendricks, normally stellar at Wrigley, takes the mound for the Cubs and has a 5.17 ERA at home this year. Against Rockies hitters, he’s given up a .310 average. For the Rockies, Antonio Senzatela pitches. He carries a 5.80 ERA into tonight’s matchup as a road starter. In just 23 at-bats against Senzatela, Cubs hitters are hitting a robust .492 against him. He has been solid lately, so if you’d like to play a side, I lean the Rockies at +108. However, I think the game goes over the 9-run total at -104. Wind should be blowing out to center too. A Rockies ML and over 8.5 pays +260, could do worse...
Diamondbacks vs. Pirates
In another game of “Who outside of the hometown fans cares?”, we have the Diamondbacks and Pirates. The answer to that question though, is us – sports betting enthusiasts. For the Diamondbacks, they have Humberto Mejia pitching in his fourth start of the season. He has a 5.40 ERA over his first three outings and none of them come against the Pirates. He hasn’t been a terrible starter, but he also has not been someone to have much faith in either. Wil Crowe pitches for the Pirates, and while he has been better at home than on the road, he has been worse at night than during day starts. Crowe also has never faced the Diamondbacks. These games typically go in one of two ways – they either are slugfests where the starters get creamed right away. Or, they are pitchers duels with both teams struggling to hit the new pitcher. I’m playing it that the Diamondbacks hitters will be better than the Pirates hitters in this one and backing them at +106.