MLB Betting Picks, All-Star Game Thoughts, and More

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

MLB All-Star Thoughts

The MLB is back from its All-Star break, but the show starts off by questioning where the All-Star Game fits in with the landscape of sports and All-Star activities. The Home Run Derby is an elite product for fans, but the All-Star Game—which the National League won for the first time in nine years—has not been terribly exciting.

The MLB has shown a commitment to improving the watchability of its operations, and with the All-Star Game returning discouraging viewership numbers, it may be time to wonder what the league can do to improve the All-Star Game.

MLB Betting Picks

The meat of the show focuses on the best betting picks for Friday’s MLB action. Grant was flying solo on today’s show, so all betting picks are courtesy of him.

Grant’s first pick is the Colorado Rockies +1.5 against the New York Yankees. Carlos Rodon is making his second start of the season on the road and will be dueling with Austin Gomber who, despite having a high ERA and WHIP, is 7-7 this season. The Rockies also play much better baseball at home than they do on the road.

The main motivation for this pick is the Yankees’ offensive lethargy that has been present ever since Aaron Judge went out of the lineup with a toe injury. That combined with how Coors Field favors offensive teams leads to believe that the Rockies will be more advantaged than the Yankees, and because the underdog runline is still for plus-money, it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The Padres won five of six entering the All-Star break, but the Phillies were on a 22-9 stretch and showed a greater ability to sustain winning play than the Padres have all season.

Christopher Sanchez will look to continue his impressive play in his third season against veteran Yu Darvish, who has not been at his best this season. The Padres struggle on the road while the Phillies have been productive, which is yet another reason Grant is siding with the latter.

The final pick of the show takes it to the Windy City where the Boston Red Sox are in prime position to score a road win against the Chicago Cubs. Brayan Bello will go toe-to-toe with Kyle Hendricks in a matchup between two pitchers that have been awesome this season, but when it comes to offense, the only correct answer is the Red Sox.

Although Boston doesn’t hit a ton of home runs, they are sixth in scoring this season and also have a higher batting average than the Cubs. Dansby Swanson is also injured and could be out of the Cubs’ lineup, which is another reason to side with the visitors.