What's up everyone? Welcome to the start of another work week. Tyler Sullivan here, and I'll be with you for the next three days as our good pal Tom Fornelli gets more time off before the start of the college football season. I'm also going to sneak away at the end of the week and head up to Bar Harbor, Maine to re-charge the batteries one last time before the NFL really gets rolling.
Is it just me or did this summer absolutely fly by? I feel like I blinked after the NFL Draft and found myself in August. In all honesty, I'm not complaining. There's nothing better than this time of year when the preseason kicks off and all of your fantasy football league-mates start scheduling the draft (and, naturally, get their trash-talking in mid-season form.)
While we'll get a slew of preseason games later on in the week, we're going to diving into a five-game MLB slate that's in front of us tonight and look to cash on a couple of wagers. Before we jump into that, let's see what's making headlines to begin the week.
- Michael Thomas implies that the Saints are trying to 'damage' his reputation amid recent offseason rumors.
- Giants' RB Saquon Barkley will begin practicing in training camp.
- Miami QB D'Eriq King signs NIL deal with the Florida Panthers.
- Texans are still open to Deshaun Watson starting in 2021 amid trade talks and legal dispute, per report.
Alright, let's get to it.
All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook
🔥 The Hot Ticket
White Sox at Twins, 8 p.m. | TV: ESPN
The Pick: White Sox -1.5 (-120) -- The Twins are sending Beau Burrows to the mound for his first big-league start on Monday. If Burrows' bullpen work is any indication, this should be great news for the White Sox offense.
This season, Burrows has an 11.00 ERA in his nine innings of relief work. Since being claimed by the Twins in late June, his numbers have improved, but are still not what you would call a lights-out pitcher as he owns an ERA of 8.59. Meanwhile, the White Sox have fared well against right-handed pitching on the road, owning a 5-1 record in their last 6 road games against righties. Chicago's bats have also been pretty hot over the last seven days, scoring 31 runs in their last six games.
Key Trend: Chicago is 13-4 in the last 17 meetings against Minnesota
Here's what SportsLine is saying about the game: SportsLine's model has simulated every pitch of every game 10,000 times and has proven to be quite profitable throughout the year. For this contest, there is one side of the money line that has a ton of value. To see which team holds those cards, head on over to SportsLine.
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💰 The Picks
⚾ Brewers vs. Cubs, 8:05 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Brewers -1.5 (-120) -- Freddy Peralta will be on the bump for Milwaukee as he looks to continue through his career season. To this point, the Brewers' right-hander has been dominant, owning a 2.21 ERA. Dating back to May 29, Peralta has just five starts where he's allowed two or more runs, and the highest he's given up over that stretch is three runs. His most recent start against the Cubs came back on June 28, when he went six deep, struck out eight and allowed just two runs en-route to a 14-4 win by his club.
Since then the Cubs have stripped their roster down of serious power and struggled mightily. They are 1-6 in their last seven games and are winless in their last six home contests. Meanwhile, Milwaukee is 8-1 in their last nine games against the National League Central and is 33-20 ATS on the road this season.
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⚾ Reds vs. Indians, 6:10 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Reds (-177) -- Don't look now, but the Reds are white-hot. To begin August, the club is 6-1 and has scored 49 runs while allowing just 22. Against Cleveland on Monday night, they'll also be sending out Luis Castillo, who owns a 2.06 ERA over his last seven starts.
Castillo will also have the luxury of having a DH for this contest to potentially give him some extra run support. Cincinnati has covered 59.2% of their road games this season are 30-24 away from Great American Ball Park. They are also 8-1 in their previous nine games against a right-handed starter (Cleveland will be sending out RHP Sam Hentges on Monday.) As for the Indians, who beat the Tigers on Sunday, they are 0-7 in their last 7 games following a win.
