No, you aren’t seeing things. The Mariners and Rays played last weekend in Seattle, with the home side sweeping three. They face off again this weekend in St. Petersburg. The M’s are solid MLB odds favorites for Game 2 on Friday night.
Rays fans could get a look at a potential future star in this series as the team called up outfield prospect Jake Bauers on Thursday. Acquired in the three-team deal that sent Wil Myers to San Diego, Bauers was hitting .279/.357/.429 with five homers in 52 games at Triple-A Durham. He has an exceptional approach at the plate, and he makes hard contact to all parts of the field.
The Rays got some bad news this week in their pitching staff. Ace Chris Archer landed on the 10-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain. Archer was pulled from his last start Saturday against the Mariners after experiencing tightness in his core. Archer, 29, stands 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 76/26 K/BB ratio in 76 1/3 innings (13 starts) this season. Reliever Anthony Banda underwent Tommy John surgery. Banda — who was acquired over the offseason from the Diamondbacks in the Steven Souza trade — is expected to be sidelined until 2020. It’s yet another blow to the pitching depth for the Rays, who had already lost Brent Honeywell and Jose DeLeon to Tommy John surgery.
Rays relievers lead the majors in innings pitched, while Tampa starters have the fewest. The Rays were swept in each of their past two series, in Seattle and Washington, D.C. The team has been swept six times this year and is 10-23 this season against teams currently .500 or better.
As you may know by now, the Rays sometimes start a reliever, now called an “opener.” They do so to let him face the top of the order and then to make way for a young or shaky starter. The thinking is that the starter gets to avoid the top of the inning one extra time around, which can only help.
How to Bet Mariners at Rays MLB Odds & Game Info
When: Friday, 7:10 PM ET Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg Probable pitchers (away/home): Marco Gonzalez/Wilmer Font TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: 710 AM (Seattle) / 620 AM (Tampa Bay) Opening MLB Odds: Mariners -133, Rays +123 (8)Strong pitching, strong hitting deliver the Mariners another win—and they move to 39-23.
RECAP: https://t.co/Qcgd3ZJBXr pic.twitter.com/3SdiSIbKAe — Mariners (@Mariners) June 8, 2018
Season Series
The Mariners swept visiting Tampa last weekend. The opener was 4-3 in 13 innings. Mitch Haniger hit an opposite-field homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to improve Seattle to a crazy 6-0 in extras this year. Matt Andriese was the last of seven Tampa Bay pitchers. He pitched a scoreless 12th inning before giving up Haniger’s game-ending shot. Seattle closer Edwin Diaz gave up the tying run in the ninth. In Game 2, Seattle won 3-1 as Marco Gonzales was strong on the mound. Ryon Healy homered for Seattle. In the finale, Seattle prevailed 2-1 behind Felix Hernandez.Why Bet on Seattle’s MLB Odds?
The Mariners were supposed to fade when All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano was suspended 80 games for PED use, but they have taken off without him and lead the AL West. The Mariners are tied with the Yankees for 3rd-most walk-off wins in the ML, trailing only the Cardinals (7) and Braves (6). Each of the Mariners’ 5 walk-off wins has come during extra-innings. Seattle is 26-7 when scoring 4-or-more runs, but 12-16 when scoring 3-or-fewer runs. Dee Gordon has moved from center field to second and is playing terrific. Jean Segura is tied for the Major League lead with 26 multi-hit games, along with Nicholas Castellanos of Detroit and Nick Markakis of Atlanta. Segura is also tied for the ML lead with 11 games of 3+ hits (with Castellanos). Since 2015, Nelson Cruz (75) and Kyle Seager (60) have combined to hit 135 home runs on the road. Cruz’s 75 road home runs since 2015 lead all Major League players, while Seager ranks T7. Seattle boasts 2 of the top-10 players in the Major Leagues in RBI on the road this season. Seager ranks T3 with 25 road RBI, while Mitch Haniger ranks T10th with 21 RBI.Who Takes the Mound for the Mariners?
It’s lefty Marco Gonzales (6-3, 3.38) on the mound here. Gonzales has allowed just one earned run in 26 innings over his last four starts, including 6 2/3 innings with one run in a 3-1 win over the Rays on Saturday in Seattle. He ran his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 24 1/3 before finally giving up an earned run in the sixth inning. Gonzales gave up five hits and struck out six and was on the verge of getting through the seventh inning before a two-out walk to Christian Arroyo. The Rays’ only damage against Gonzales came on an RBI double by Wilson Ramos in the sixth that narrowly missed being a two-run homer as it deflected off the yellow line atop the wall and stayed in the field of play. In his past four starts, Gonzales has allowed one earned run over 26 innings pitched and struck out 18. Gonzales had not allowed an earned run since his May 12 start against Detroit. The 26-year-old is 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA over his last eight outings.Why Bet on Tampa Bay’s MLB Odds?
Rays fans could get a look at a potential future star in this series as the team called up outfield prospect Jake Bauers on Thursday. Acquired in the three-team deal that sent Wil Myers to San Diego, Bauers was hitting .279/.357/.429 with five homers in 52 games at Triple-A Durham. He has an exceptional approach at the plate, and he makes hard contact to all parts of the field.
The Rays got some bad news this week in their pitching staff. Ace Chris Archer landed on the 10-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain. Archer was pulled from his last start Saturday against the Mariners after experiencing tightness in his core. Archer, 29, stands 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 76/26 K/BB ratio in 76 1/3 innings (13 starts) this season. Reliever Anthony Banda underwent Tommy John surgery. Banda — who was acquired over the offseason from the Diamondbacks in the Steven Souza trade — is expected to be sidelined until 2020. It’s yet another blow to the pitching depth for the Rays, who had already lost Brent Honeywell and Jose DeLeon to Tommy John surgery.
Rays relievers lead the majors in innings pitched, while Tampa starters have the fewest. The Rays were swept in each of their past two series, in Seattle and Washington, D.C. The team has been swept six times this year and is 10-23 this season against teams currently .500 or better.
As you may know by now, the Rays sometimes start a reliever, now called an “opener.” They do so to let him face the top of the order and then to make way for a young or shaky starter. The thinking is that the starter gets to avoid the top of the inning one extra time around, which can only help.
Who Will Start For the Rays?
In that regard, it will be reliever Wilmer Font (0-2, 9.78) starting on Friday, but again he’ll only go an inning, maybe 2 at most. Font pitched two perfect innings of relief vs. the Nats on Tuesday. Since rejoining the Rays in a trade with Oakland, he’s pitched to a 1.50 ERA in four appearances, three of which have been scoreless. Prior to the trade to the Rays, Font made 10 appearances between the Dodgers (6) and Athletics (4) and yielded at least 1 run in eight of those 10. Font has allowed 11 HR, most among major league relievers/ A total of 22 of his 25 runs allowed have scored via the home run (7 solo, one 2-run, two 3-run). Font was the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year last season, going 10-8 with a 3.48 ERA (134.1-IP, 51-ER) and a league-leading 178 SO.Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Seattle is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games
- Seattle is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Seattle’s last 17 games
- Tampa Bay is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- Tampa Bay is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Tampa Bay’s last 17 games
