Monday MLB Betting Tips: Diamondbacks, Rangers and Padres backed

As the end of the regular season approaches, stakes are very high for teams in the mix for a Playoff spot. Monday night’s schedule might only have four games, but there’s a huge amount to play for.

Here are our three best bets from tonight’s slate…

Yankees v Diamondbacks

First pitch: 6:05pm Monday

On an 11-5 run, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the midst of the National League Wild Card race. They have split the first two games of this rain-disrupted series in New York, but look well-placed to take the final game on Monday. 

Favoured at a price of 1.83, Arizona sends veteran Merrill Kelly to the mound to matchup with Clarke Schmidt. Kelly has a sub-3.50 ERA on the season, and has allowed one or zero runs in four of his last six starts.

Schmidt has an ERA over five since the start of August. While he tends to keep his team in games, he regularly allows a few runs. Arizona’s offence isn’t the most potent, but they should be able to take an early lead in this one. 

The Diamondbacks bullpen has been sensational in September, owning the third-lowest ERA in the Majors. We expect Arizona’s relief corps to translate a solid Kelly start into a crucial win. 

Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks moneyline @ 1.83

Angels v Rangers

First pitch: 02:38am Tuesday

Winners of five in a row, the Texas Rangers are in sole possession of first place in the American League West. Texas has bounced back from a late-season slump to roll off an 11-4 run. 

Monday night sees Jon Gray take the mound for the Rangers. Gray hasn’t been at his best of late, including an ERA above eight in September, but he will be glad to be facing an Angels offence with a 77 September wRC+. The former Rockie also pitched seven innings of one-run ball against the Angels last month. 

Angels starter Patrick Sandoval hasn’t been much better. His underlying metrics have been poor all year, and he’s had a couple of poor September starts.

Where Texas appears to be finishing the year strongly, the Angels have gone 9-23 over their last 32 games and look completely overmatched. The Rangers offence has regained its form over the last couple of weeks, and should guide them to an easy win here. 

Prediction: Texas Rangers -1.5 @ 1.70

Giants v Padres

First pitch: 02:45am Tuesday

San Diego hasn’t given up hope on an improbable march into the Wild Card spots. The Padres have played their best baseball in September, going 15-6 with one of the best offences in the league backed up by excellent pitching.

Blake Snell, the best of those pitchers and the Cy Young frontrunner, gets the ball for the series opener against the Giants. San Francisco has collapsed from 54-41 to 77-79, effectively ending their own postseason aspirations. 

Yes, the Giants have their ace Logan Webb on the mound, but their offence has been abysmal for a long time, and it’s hard to see them doing much damage against Snell. The former Ray has a 2.33 ERA and sits in the 97th percentile in whiff rate. He’s got a 0.72 ERA in September.

San Diego’s bullpen has been strong this month, placing eighth in ERA. With how the Padres lineup has looked, there’s great value backing them in this one against a struggling Giants ballclub. 

Prediction: San Diego Padres moneyline @ 1.71

Recommended Bets

Back Arizona Diamondbacks moneyline @ 1.83
Back Texes Ranger -1.5 @ 1.7
Back San Diego Padres moneyline @ 1.71