Looks to be a major mismatch on the mound from St. Petersburg on Wednesday afternoon as Tampa Bay starts All-Star Charlie Morton against the Seattle Mariners. The Rays are huge favorites at the latest MLB Odds.
How to Bet Mariners vs Rays MLB Lines & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 1:10 PM ET
- Where: Tropicana Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Wade LeBlanc/Charlie Morton
- TV: MLB Network
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: SiriusXM
- MLB Lines: Tampa Bay Rays -290 (Total 8.5)
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Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 30°C/86°F
- Humidity: 67%
- Precipitation: 15%
- Cloud Cover: 52%
- Wind: 7 mph ESE
- Stadium Type: Indoor
Why Bet on Seattle?
Seattle has called up outfielder Jake Fraley from Triple-A. He’ll replace the injured Domingo Santana on the active roster. Acquired from the Rays last November, the 24-year-old Fraley has thrived to the tune of a .298/.365/.545 batting line with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases between Double- and Triple-A this year. The Mariners figure to give him a good shot at playing time down the stretch. He is to become the 17th Mariners player to make their debut this season and the 63rd player used by Seattle in 2019. Seattle leads the Majors with most debuts this season.
Santana landed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. It has been a lingering issue for Santana and now he’ll get some extended rest. The 27-year-old has struggled with a .490 OPS during the second half.
First baseman Ryon Healy and outfielder Mitch Haniger are also on the injured list. Healy underwent successful debridement surgery on his right hip not long ago and is done for the year. The 27-year-old was limited to just 47 games in 2019. Haniger has been sidelined since early June due to a ruptured testicle.
Dating back to 2017, Mallex Smith is batting .325 with 57 runs scored, 18 doubles, 8 triples, 3 home runs, 29 RBI and 42 walks in 112 games at Tropicana Field. Among all active players (min. 120 PA), Smith’s .325 average at Tropicana Field is the highest in the Majors.
With his 15th home run of the season Tom Murphy became the 8th Mariners player with 15 or more home runs this season (Daniel Vogelbach – 27 HR, Domingo Santana – 21, Edwin Encarnación – 21, Omar Narváez – 17, Mitch Haniger – 15, Tim Beckham – 15 & Kyle Seager – 15). It marks the first in club history that Seattle has had 8 or more players hit 15 home runs.
Lefty Wade LeBlanc will follow an opener in this one. He is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA (29 ER, 68.1 IP) in 12 appearances following an “opener” this season. LeBlanc will be making his 3rd career appearance against Tampa Bay. He is 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA (5 ER, 11.1 IP) with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in the previous two.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.89
- Hits: 8.25
- Walks: 3.60
- Strike Outs: 9.82
- Runs: 5.67
- Hits: 9.40
- Walks: 2.96
- Strike Outs: 7.65
Why Bet on Tampa Bay?
The Rays are 4-13 (.235) at home against the Mariners since June 7, 2014 and 7-16 (.304) at home against them since July 21, 2012. Those numbers are entering Tuesday. Over the last two seasons, nine of the 11 games between the clubs have been decided by 2 runs (or fewer), incl. seven 1-run games.
Avisail Garcia will miss this game but is expected to return to the Rays’ active roster this weekend in Baltimore. Garcia suffered a right oblique strain exactly one week ago, but he is already swinging a bat and he ran the bases on Tuesday afternoon. The 28-year-old outfielder has posted a solid .794 OPS with 17 home runs, 57 RBI, nine steals, and 49 runs scored through 101 games this season.
The Rays are 53-18 (.746) when scoring first and 34- 11 (.756) when scoring in the 1st inning, incl. 14-7 when doing so at home and 20-4 on the road.
Tampa Bay’s Charlie Morton (13-5) took the loss Friday, giving up an unearned run on three hits over seven innings while striking out 10 as the Rays fell 2-0 to the Tigers. A Matt Duffy error in the fourth inning led to the only blemish on Morton’s line, and eventually stuck him with his second loss in three August starts. The right-hander has been outstanding since the beginning of July, fanning double-digit batters in five of his nine trips to the mound with a 3.38 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 74:9 K:BB through 56 innings.
Morton has totaled 29 strikeouts to zero walks in his last 3 starts, the first time in his career he has made three consecutive starts without a walk. It marks the third time a Rays pitcher has recorded double-digit strikeouts and 0 BB in back-to-back starts, first since Chris Archer (3) from May 27–June 7, 2015.
Morton is 5-3 with a 4.19 ERA (53.2-IP, 25-ER) in nine starts against the Mariners, and will be facing them for the second time in 3 starts. On August 10 in Seattle, he yielded 9 hits, his most since June 3, 2018 vs. BOS (9), incl. a solo homer to Omar Narváez in the 5th and 2-out RBI single to Tim Lopes in the 6th.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.65
- Hits: 8.80
- Walks: 3.41
- Strike Outs: 9.29
- Runs: 3.89
- Hits: 7.79
- Walks: 2.80
- Strike Outs: 10.06
Mariners vs Rays MLB Betting Trends
- Mariners are 4-11 in their last 15 road games vs. a right-handed starter
- Rays are 7-3 in Morton’s last 10 starts vs. a team with a losing record
- Mariners are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
- Rays are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 14 of Tampa Bay’s last 20 games this season
Expert Final Score Prediction for Mariners vs Rays
Seattle Mariners 2 – Tampa Bay Rays 5
