Friday MLB Betting Picks for August 18 - Ride the Line Ep #45

A new episode of Ride the Line with Grant Mitchell and Tanner Kern is now live on all WSN platforms!

Friday MLB Betting Picks

Tanner is back from his hiatus and starts the show off by taking the under in the Cleveland Guardians-Detroit Tigers matchup. Gavin Williams has been excellent for the Guardians in his first season in the MLB and will take on Tarik Skubal, who has four shutouts in seven starts this season despite also having a 4.18 ERA.

The under has also been in favor here. The Tigers have cashed the under in 10 of their last 16 outings, while the Guardians have gone under in 10 of their last 14. Both of these offenses are highly inconsistent and lack the top-end punch to consistently put runs on the board, which are two more reasons to take the under.

Grant’s first pick is the Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 against the Washington Nationals. Michael Lorenzen will take the mound for the Phillies fresh off of a complete-game no-hitter against… the Nationals in his last start. His counterpart, Joan Adon, has barely seen MLB action but had a stat line of 3-5, 4.62 ERA, and 1.51 WHIP in the minor leagues.

Both offenses rank in the top 10 in scoring post-All-Star break—but the Phillies not only have the advantage in the starting pitching department, as their bullpen is also fourth in combined ERA since the start of July, while the Nats are down at 27th. The Phillies lead the series 6-4 and have covered in all six of those wins and will do it again Friday.

Tanner also likes the Minnesota Twins -1.5 against the Pittsburgh Pirates for his second pick. Pablo Lopez has been very solid for the Twins since coming over from the Miami Marlins and will take on Andre Jackson, who has a 5.47 ERA and has not been given a decision yet this season.

The Pirates have gone 34-59 ever since their 20-8 start to the season and are playing some of the worst ball in the entire league. The Twins are inconsistent but are still sixth in scoring since the intermission and are especially dominant in hitting home runs, which could be a key for them to secure a win over the Pirates.

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Grant’s second pick is the Boston Red Sox moneyline against the New York Yankees. Brayan Bello has not been at his best in his last few starts but only gave up three earned runs in 14 innings in his two matchups with the Yankees this season. His counterpart, Jhony Brito, has a 4.76 ERA and 1.28 WHIP and has consistently come up short. 

The Red Sox have won seven of nine games against the Yankees this season, including two of three the last time they met in New York (where Friday’s game is). Boston had been in an offensive slump but scored seven runs on Thursday, whereas the Yankees were shut out in their last two games and have scored more than three runs just once in their last five outings.

Tanner’s final pick is the Tampa Bay Rays money line against the Los Angeles Angels. The Rays are likely going to use their bullpen to get through the game, but their bullpen is a real strength even amid the injury crisis to their starters. On the flip side, Tyler Anderson has given up nine earned runs in 9.2 innings of action this month and will start for the Angels.

LA showed ambition to go for it and was a buyer at the trade deadline, but that has backfired massively. The Rays will be without Wander Franco but have continued to improve on offense in recent weeks and should be able to walk away with a win.

The final pick of the show comes courtesy of Grant, and it is the Toronto Blue Jays money line against the Cincinnati Reds. Jose Berrios will take on Brett Kennedy, who only has two Major-League appearances in the last five years.

The Blue Jays have the third-best bullpen ERA since the start of July and have scored the seventh-most runs on the road in the league. The Reds have flatlined ever since their mid-season surge and are disadvantaged in all phases on the mound.

Check back on Monday for a new episode of Ride the Line with more MLB betting picks and other content!