Media by Associated Press – Cleveland Guardians pitcher James Karinchak throws against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept 11, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
All eyes are on the NFL for the first Monday Night Football game of the regular season, but does that mean we can find some value in the September 12th MLB slate?
The most important games are the Blue Jays ½ a game back from the Rays in the AL East and hosting Tampa Bay as -156 home favorites and the Guardians trying to hold on to their AL Central lead as just -120 home favorites against the Angels.
The Mets are also huge -320 favorites as they welcome the Cubs to Citi Field, and we have the Rangers and Marlins doing double duty playing two in South Beach. Here are the top 3 teams to bet on for Monday, September 12th:
Cleveland Guardians (-120) vs. Los Angeles Angels
There’s great value on the Guardians in this spot with the number low because Cleveland pitcher Konnor Pilkington (1-2, 3.99 ERA) is making his first MLB start since July 23rd after spending time in Triple-A. Pilkington did have two innings of hitless relief on September 4th against the Mariners (although his three walks in that outing are a bit concerning).
There are multiple reasons to like Cleveland here; first that their three-game win streak is the current longest in baseball. Overall the Guardians need to snap a five-game home losing skid, and the Angels are traveling East of the Mississippi after spending the weekend in Houston.
The fact that the Guardians are in the midst of a division race with a 2.5-game lead over the White Sox makes this contest much more meaningful for the home team.
New York Mets -1.5 (-135) vs. Chicago Cubs
That’s not a horrible price to play on a Mets run line win, considering New York is back at home after a 4-2 road trip. The Mets are 36-16 in their last 62 at Citi Field, took three of four at Wrigley Field, and are in a must-win situation from here on out while nursing a 1.5-game lead over the Braves in the NL East.
The pitching matchup favors New York here, too, with the Mets winning eight straight Chris Bassitt (13-7, 3.24 ERA) starts. Chicago’s Javier Assad (0-1, 2.93 ERA), on the other hand, is making just his fourth career start and against a Mets offense that has plated 20 runs in their last two games.
Atlanta Braves (-188) at San Francisco Giants
Atlanta actually has the travel advantage here, shooting down the West Coast after a weekend series in Seattle while the Giants fly back from Chicago with Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Cubs being the ESPN night game.
The Braves are also trying to track down the Mets in the NL East (1.5 GB), while San Francisco is 9.5 GB from even the third wild card spot.
Spencer Strider (10-4, 2.69 ERA) is also on the bump for Atlanta, and he’s allowed two ER or less in five straight starts – all Braves wins. The Giants have lost seven of the last nine Alex Cobb (5-6, 3.68 ERA) starts.
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