Mariners vs. Rays Pick
Will the Seattle Mariners win a fifth straight game over the host Tampa Bay Rays this season when the two teams square off Saturday at 6:05PM EST?
Oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv have set the Rays as -110 on the moneyline, while the visiting Mariners are also at -110. The over-under is set at -9.5.
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Left-hander Ariel Miranda (7-6, 4.76 ERA) starts for the Mariners, while the Rays counter with Jake Odorizzi (6-6, 4.30). Miranda has been torched away from home, giving up 18 home runs in 59 innings and sporting a 6.25 ERA. He has not been good in any of his three August starts, allowing 14 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings with the Mariners losing two of those three games. He has had some bad luck on the mound this season, however, as evidenced by a WHIP that stands at a respectable 1.20. Odorizzi has been worse at home, coming in with a 4.48 ERA at Tropicana Field where he has allowed 15 home runs in 62 1/3 innings. He has a 1.26 WHIP this season and often does not go deep in games, with everything having to be clicking for him to be pitching into the seventh inning.
Seattle enters with a 62-61 record and is 28-29 on the road, while Tampa Bay is 60-64 and 31-31 at home. Seattle won the opener of the three-game series Friday by a score of 7-1 and leads the season series 4-0.
Nelson Cruz hit a 482-foot home run in the series opener, the longest ever measured at Tropicana Field. He also doubled twice, scoring three runs and driving in two. Mike Zunino added two doubles and drove in two runs, while Danny Valencia contributed two hits and an RBI. Erasmo Ramirez earned the win as he threw six innings of one-run ball. Wilson Ramos had three of the Rays’ four hits, while Austin Pruitt surrendered six earned runs in seven innings to take the loss.
IT’s hard to look past Miranda’s awful road numbers. Odorizzi has not exactly been stellar at home, but he is typically strong enough to give the Rays solid innings. The Rays are at home and due to get the best of the Mariners this season.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY RAYS -110