MLB Monday best bets: Blue Jays to snap skid vs. Cubs

We're heading for a relatively quiet night in MLB with just 16 of the league's 30 teams set to take the field.

Let's look at the best ways to attack the slate with two best bets for Monday's action.

Cubs (+200) @ Blue Jays (-240)

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit a cold patch. An icy cold patch, at that.

Despite heading into a home series against a bad Los Angeles Angels team after winning seven of eight contests, the Jays were outscored 22-3 in a three-game sweep.

Luckily for them, they find themselves in a fantastic get-right spot Monday evening. Toronto is taking on a poor Chicago Cubs team that'll trot out Javier Assad for just his second career start.

Although Assad, 25, didn't allow a run during his debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, he surrendered four hits and four walks in just four innings of work. The 0.0 ERA is nice; the 4.63 FIP is not.

Not only should the Jays be able to do some damage against Assad, but things only figure to improve once he's out of the game.

Chicago's bullpen is very hittable. Cubs relievers rank 28th in FIP and 27th in hard-hit rate allowed over the past 30 days.

I don't see an inexperienced Assad being overly efficient with his pitches against the likes of George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and some of Toronto's other top bats. Expect the Jays to get plenty of time to take advantage of Chicago's struggling bullpen.

Although Jose Berrios has gone through his share of issues this season, he's quietly pitched much better on home soil. He owns a 6.48 ERA and 5.54 FIP on the road, compared to a 4.10 ERA and 4.15 FIP at home.

He allows less hard contact and strikes out batters at a much higher rate in Toronto as well.

Berrios isn't untouchable, but he's proven he can give the Blue Jays a quality outing in their own building.

If he can deliver a serviceable start, the offense should be able to pick up the slack en route to a multi-run rebound victory.

Bet: Blue Jays -1.5 (-120)

Padres (+115) @ Giants (-135)

Not a lot has gone right for the San Francisco Giants this season, especially of late. They've dropped four consecutive games and eight of their last 10 overall.

San Francisco's one big exception has been Carlos Rodon. He owns a 12-6 record on a team that sits four games under .500, and his numbers are exceptional across the board.

The 29-year-old lefty owns a sparkling 1.44 ERA over the past month, which is directly in line with his 1.63 FIP. He's pitching every bit as well as the surface stats suggest.

Rodon's success should continue Monday night against the San Diego Padres. They're wildly inconsistent at the plate, they're not generating power, and they've largely struggled against left-handed pitchers over the last couple of months.

San Diego ranks 18th in wOBA and 28th in ISO versus lefties since the beginning of July.

Rodon's had the Padres' number this season, having allowed just three runs over 15 innings of work while sitting down 18 batters.

He should be able to keep their offense in check, which gives the Giants a great chance of grinding out a lead in the first half of this ballgame.

While San Diego isn't hitting the ball very well, Mike Clevinger is struggling on the mound. He owns a 5.24 FIP over the last 30 days, he's struck out batters at a well below-average rate, and he's conceded a ton of flyballs.

If the Giants can muster up a couple of runs against him, that'll likely be more than enough support for Rodon.

Bet: Giants F5 ML (-135)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.