Monday MLB Betting Picks, College Football Recap, and More for September 4 - Ride the Line Ep. #52

A new episode of Ride the Line with Grant Mitchell and Tanner Kern is now live on all WSN platforms!

Monday MLB Betting Picks

It’s NFL kick-off week, but Monday is still all about the MLB betting picks. Grant gets the show started with his selection of the over in the Toronto Blue Jays-Oakland Athletics matchup. Jose Berrios (9-10, 3.70 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) has been impressive this season but had a 5.53 ERA in August and gave up five earned runs in his last two starts. He’ll square off against Ken Waldichuk, who has a 5.92 ERA and 1.67 WHIP for the year.

The Blue Jays have scored a ton of runs lately, including no fewer than seven and a total of 34 across their last four outings. The Athletics are also playing arguably their best offense of what has been a forgettable season, ranking 14th in scoring over the last two weeks. The Blue Jays have hit the over in seven of their last eight and the A’s in three of their last four, and Grant expects both trends to hold.

Tanner started off his picks by taking the Chicago Cubs' moneyline versus the San Francisco Giants. Justin Steele has been one of the best pitchers in baseball and will take his 2.69 ERA into a matchup against a Giants offense that has been one of MLB’s worst over the past month. Logan Webb will start for the Giants, and although he has been solid, his ERA jumps to 4.63 on the road.

The Cubs just scored 15 runs in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Reds and are feeling good about themselves. The Giants, meanwhile, have scored four runs in their last three outings and an average of less than 3.5 over the last 10. For those reasons, Tanner loves the Cubs today.

Grant’s second pick is the Baltimore Orioles’ runline against the Los Angeles Angels. Grayson Rodriguez has an ERA over 5.00 for the year, but in eight starts since he was recalled from Triple-A, that ERA has dropped to 2.86. His counterpart, LA’s Kenny Rosenberg, has a 5.09 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in five career MLB appearances, two of which came this season. He also has a 4.95 ERa and 1.51 WHIP in the minor leagues this year.

The Orioles are 83-53 against the spread and 43-25 straight-up on the road. They’ll get nine innings of guaranteed offense against an Angels squad that was just swept in a three-game series by the Athletics and that has lost 10 of its last 13.

MLB Best Bets Continued

Tanner’s second pick is the Boston Red Sox-Tampa Bay Rays under eight runs. Brayan Bello and Aaron Civale have both been excellent for their respective ball clubs and will be on the mound Monday for another important divisional matchup, one that the Rays have dominated this season.

The Red Sox have the highest drop-off in batting average from home to away in MLB. Because this game is in Tampa Bay and because Tanner thinks the Rays’ offense, despite showing improvement, is still not a consistent force, the under is a better play than the over here.

Grant’s final pick is over nine runs in the San Diego Padres-Philadelphia Phillies matchup. Taijuan Walker has racked up 14 wins for the Phils but has a 4.98 ERA away from home and has not recorded a shutout in 12 straight games. Rich Hill, meanwhile, has an 8.50 ERA in five games with the Padres and is continuing to decline in his age-43 season.

The Phillies scored more runs per game than any team in the league over the last month. The Padres have not been at the same level but play better on their home field (where Monday’s meeting is being held) and enter the game riding a three-game win streak. Philly has hit the over in 11 of its last 16 while San Diego has gone over in six of nine, and Grant likes the over again here.

Tanner is also picking from Phillies-Padres but is going with the Phillies moneyline as his favorite pick. Walker, despite his road struggles, is 14-5 at the end of the day, and the Phillies’ offense is far more consistent than the Padres’. He’s expecting Hill to get blown up early and for the visitors to notch a high-scoring win.

Check back for a new episode of Ride the Line with NFL Thursday Night Football betting picks on Wednesday!