Cano, M’s to club their way past Reds?
Owners of the best road record in the American League, the Mariners clearly know how to knock off some quality competition. Can they make quick work of a scuffling interleague foe, though?
Seattle aims to stay hot away from Safeco Field in tonight’s series opener vs. Cincinnati, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch at the Great American Ballpark. Oddsmakers at online sports book BetDSI lean toward Scott Servais’ outfit here. Bryan Price’s group, meanwhile, sits as a +122 underdog.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Robinson Cano, the M’s have raced out to a 15-7 record in non-home venues. They’re batting .268 with 5.3 runs per contest and 34 home runs as visitors. When stationed in the Pacific Northwest, the same players produce at a .213 clip with 3.7 runs and 21 dingers.
The discrepancy is vast, and illustrated perfectly by the team’s top offensive talent. Cano’s raking at a .370 rate on the road, where he also boasts nine of his 12 blasts. All the way around, however, the second baseman’s fashioning a superb campaign. He currently ranks among the AL leaders in homers, RBIs (36), slugging percentage (.587) and OPS (.930).
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Seattle’s starting staff almost arrives as an afterthought now, but Hisashi Iwakuma (1-4, 4.38 ERA) must be sharp in a setting that invites fireworks. The veteran righty carries a 6.26 ERA in his past four interleague assignments. Even so, Cincy’s Dan Straily (2-1, 3.05) by no means represents an invincible opponent. Given the woeful state of the Reds’ rotation, Price will probably ask Straily to venture uncomfortably deep into the proceedings.
Between Cano and Milwaukee import Adam Lind (.403 average with four bombs and 20 RBIs in 19 tilts vs. Cincinnati in 2015), the Mariners (23-17) undoubtedly possess the lumber to take care of business this evening. The last-place Reds, conversely, are a season-worst 11 games below .500. Look for the misery to continue.
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