My selection is on San Diego over San Francisco at 9:45 pm et on Monday.

While it's a case of too little, too late, the Padres have undoubtedly played their best baseball down the stretch. Monday's starter, Blake Snell, has posted Cy Young Award-caliber numbers, logging a 2.33 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. As usual, command has been an issue and as a result Snell's FIP has remained relatively high at 3.48. Here, he'll face a Giants club that doesn't walk at an abnormally high rate but does strike out a ton. Snell should be happy to be facing San Francisco, noting that he owns a career 1.83 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in eight starts against it. The Giants will hand the ball to their ace Logan Webb. Note that he'll be making his second consecutive start on short rest (four days) and looks like a pitcher that's running out of gas a bit having worked north of 200 innings on the season. Webb has topped out at six strikeouts over his last four starts, reaching just four in three of those outings. Speaking of overworked, the Giants bullpen has logged just shy of 700 total innings this season. Entering last night's contest, San Francisco relievers had combined to post a 7.60 ERA and 1.95 WHIP over the last seven games. Take San Diego (8*).

My selection is on Cincinnati minus the points over Los Angeles at 8:15 pm et on Monday.

Everyone is ready to write off the Bengals following an ugly 0-2 start and now with QB Joe Burrow likely to miss Monday's showdown with the Rams. I actually think this is an excellent opportunity for Cincinnati to silence its critics and get its season turned around against a very beatable opponent. The Rams have been cooked by opposing ground attacks through the first two games this season, allowing north of 5.0 yards per rush. The Bengals are well-positioned to attack Los Angeles on the ground with RB Joe Mixon, especially if Burrow can't suit up. Backup QB Jake Browning has flashed at times in the preseason, particularly with his mobility. The Rams have Aaron Donald on defense much not much else. While WR Puka Nacua has stole the show through two games, I don't think we're seeing much more than the ghost of Matthew Stafford at quarterback. Expect the Bengals to make a statement. Take Cincinnati (8*).

MNF Total of the Month. My selection is on the 'over' between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay at 7:15 pm et on Monday.

The Buccaneers have displayed a rock solid offensive floor in this particular matchup in recent years, putting up 45, 27, 28 and 31 points in four meetings going back to 2015 including two since 2021. No, Tampa Bay doesn't have Tom Brady running the show anymore, but I do think it can find success with Baker Mayfield working against what looks to be a pass-funnel Eagles defense so far this season. Injuries to Avante Maddox and Nakobe Dean have certainly played a role in Philadelphia's early-season deficiencies on the defensive side of the football. On the flip side, this is a double-revenge spot for the Eagles after dropping each of its last two matchups against the Bucs. Note that Tampa Bay has allowed an average of 25.7 points per game when coming off consecutive contests in which it gave up 17 points or less over the last three seasons (six-game sample size), leading to an average total of 49.5 points in that situation. The Eagles offense has yet to really hit its stride through two games but still managed to put up a total of 59 points. Take the over (10*).