Monday night will be eerily quiet in Major League Baseball as only eight teams are scheduled to be in action.
Luckily for us, there are still some appealing games on the board. Let's dig into them.
Reds (+130) @ Pirates (-150)
The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates have combined to win just four of their last 20 games. If there was a way for neither team to prevail this evening, I'm sure they'd find it. But with our options limited Monday, this contest stands out.
The Pirates are a very attractive side to back with Roansy Contreras taking the bump. Outside of one blowup outing against the New York Yankees, Contreras has been lights out of late.
He's conceded two runs or fewer in five of the last six games, neutering potent offensive teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves during that stretch.
Contreras owns a strong 3.24 ERA over the past 30 days. That number actually does a disservice to how well he's pitched, as his FIP during that stretch sits at 2.52.
He should be in line for another good night at the office against this Reds team. Cincinnati ranks dead last with a wOBA of .269 against righties over the last three weeks. The Reds also slot 28th in hard-hit rate in that time, so they're both failing to get on base and make good contact.
The Pirates figure to have a much better chance at generating offense against Chase Anderson. The veteran righty owns a 5.21 ERA and 5.33 FIP over the past 30 days. If not for an unsustainably low .167 BABIP allowed, opposing offenses would be doing even more damage.
Pittsburgh should be able to capitalize on the opportunities Anderson offers as the team sits seventh in ISO and 14th in wOBA against righties over the past 30 days.
Look for the Pirates to get back in the win column.
Bet: Pirates (-150)
Yankees (+105) @ Blue Jays (-125)
The total stands out to me most in this game. It appears to be a run too low.
Both offenses here are generally good. The Yankees sit second in the majors with an average of 5.1 runs scored per game, while the Blue Jays aren't far behind at 4.8 (tied for fourth). That equates to a combined 9.9 runs per contest.
Each team enters this game hitting the ball very well, too, at least against righties. In fact, the Yankees rank first in ISO and in wOBA over the last three weeks. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, sit second in wOBA during that stretch. With all of the firepower on display, there's real potential for an offensive explosion.
Kevin Gausman has pitched well this year but seemingly underperformed expectations all season long. In a hitter-friendly ballpark against an elite offense in top form, I'm not sure he'll smooth things out Monday.
The Blue Jays probably won't need to do a lot of damage to push this game over the number.
Bet: Over 7.5 (-110)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.