The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves are red-hot and own the best home record in the majors. That doesn't bode well for the visiting San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Atlanta (82-55) aims for its eight consecutive victory, both overall and at home, and San Francisco (56-81) meet at 6:05 p.m. ET to make up a game that was rained out on June 18 at Truist Park. The Braves, who own a five-game division lead over the Philadelphia Phillies, have won seven consecutive contests - six of which were in their own ballpark.
The Braves improved to 48-23 at Truist Park with Sunday's 3-2 triumph over the Colorado Rockies in 10 innings. Matt Olson delivered a walk-off single for Atlanta, which has swept both the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado on its seven-game homestand.
San Francisco split a doubleheader with the Arizona Diamondbacks at home on Saturday, losing the opener 7-1 before cruising to a 7-2 victory in the nightcap. The Giants have lost four straight and 10 of their last 12 on the road but are 4-1 against the Braves this season and won both of their previous two matchups in Atlanta.
There are 11 other contests on Monday's MLB schedule, one of which is the opener of a three-game series between the Seattle Mariners (64-73) and Boston Red Sox (74-63) at 6:45 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. The Mariners enter on a four-game losing streak and are five back in both the AL West and the wild card race. Boston has dropped four of its last five contests but has won five of six at home and is five games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the second wild card.
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The San Diego Padres (72-65) look to break out of a funk when they begin a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds (65-72) at 6:40 p.m. ET at Great American Ball Park. San Diego, which trails Arizona by half a game for the third NL wild card, has lost five of six overall and four straight on the road after beginning a six-game trek by getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The Reds return home from a nine-game trip during which they won three of the last four to finish at 4-5.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers (67-70) hope to begin a winning streak and rise in the standings when they host the Athletics at 8:05 p.m. ET for the opener of their three-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Rangers halted a four-game slide with Sunday's 7-4 victory against the major league-best Milwaukee Brewers and remained two games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and Cleveland for the third wild card berth.
The Braves are huge -196 money line betting favorites against the Giants in the latest consensus MLB betting odds, while the Red Sox are -161 betting favorites against the Mariners. The Padres are -143 favorites over the Reds at sports betting apps and the Rangers are a massive -214 to win against the Athletics.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Monday, Aug. 31. All times Eastern
MLB best bets, where to watch
Giants at Braves
Time: 6:05 p.m. | Location: Atlanta | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Giants +1.5 (-123) | Expert: Braves ML (-145, Matt Severance)
The Braves own the longest current winning streak in the majors and are looking to match their season-best eight-game run, which they posted from July 29-Aug. 6. But they lost four of their first five meetings with the Giants this year, including a pair at Truist Park in June. San Francisco split its four-game series with Arizona over the weekend, and each of its three defeats prior to that set was by just one run. The SportsLine Projection Model believes Monday's contest will be a close one and has the Giants covering the run line in 57% of its simulations. SportsLine expert Matt Severance (190-112-2, +1671.5 on his last 304 MLB picks) likes the Braves to keep rolling, however, as San Francisco will be eager to get out of town and head to Pittsburgh, where it begins a three-game series on Tuesday.
Padres at Reds
Time: 6:40 p.m. | Location: Cincinnat | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Reds +1.5 (-131) | Expert: Michael King Under 5.5 hits allowed (-154, PropBetGuy)
The Padres are slumping at a bad time, as they've allowed the Diamondbacks to overtake them for the third wild card berth in the NL. They've lost five of their last six overall contests and six of eight on the road. The Reds has won three of their last four contests, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees them putting up a good fight against San Diego as its simulations have them covering the run line 64% of the time. Padres right-hander Michael King has been stingy of late, allowing fewer than six hits in nine of his last 11 starts, and SportsLine props expert PropBetGuy (104-74, +1303 on his last 178 MLB player prop picks) expects that trend to continue in Cincinnati.
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Mariners at Red Sox
Time: 6:45 p.m. | Location: Boston | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Mariners +1.5 (-159) | Expert: George Kirby Under 17.5 outs recorded (-116, Alex Selesnick)
Both teams are slumping as they enter the series, as the Mariners have lost four straight and the Red Sox have dropped four of five. Seattle has been outscored 25-4 during its skid while Boston has allowed 30 runs and scored only three on its four defeats. Mariners righty George Kirby has given up three runs over 12 innings in his last two starts at Fenway Park and Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle's ERA at home is more than a full run higher than his road mark. Therefore, the SportsLine Projection Model feels the Mariners will at least keep it close in the series opener as they cover the run line in 66% of its simulations. Kirby has failed to last five innings in each of his last three turns on the road, and SportsLine props expert Alex Selesnick doesn't like his chances to do it on Monday.
Athletics at Rangers
Time: 8:05 p.m. | Location: Arlington, Tex. | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Athletics +1.5 (-121)
The only thing keeping the Athletics out of the AL West basement is the Los Angeles Angels, who are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. The Athletics were swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend but remained one game ahead of the Angels. Now, they face two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, who has allowed fewer than two runs in each of his last three home starts. The 38-year-old righty has a 2.51 ERA in six career turns against the Athletics, but he was battered for eight runs over 3 2/3 innings by the Chicago White Sox last time out. Despite being 12 games under .500 on the road, the A's won their last two away contests - both by one run in Houston. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks a similar outcome is possible Monday as its simulations have the Athletics covering the run line 64% of the time.
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