Texas was coming off a series win over the Dodgers and were looking forward to closing the gap in the AL West as they headed to Seattle, but instead suffered a 3-2 series opening loss on Friday night. The M’s try to build on their 6.5 game lead in the division in the June 15th Rangers at Mariners betting matchup.
Seattle took Friday night’s game as -135 favorites with neither team scoring after the 3rd inning. The price has dipped a bit for the Mariners down to -126 for game two.
Why Texas Has Value on Saturday
The Rangers took an early 2-0 lead on Friday night, but gave that up instantly in the bottom of the frame thanks to a 2-run HR off the bat of Mitch Garver. Texas couldn’t get anything across against Seattle starter Luis Castillo (6.0 IP, 2 ER) and only managed 1-hit against the Mariners bullpen.
Texas is in a skid, but Seattle is also gettable as evidenced by their 2-1 loss to the White Sox on Thursday – the worst team in baseball. The Rangers will need to make this a low scoring game though, and their pitching has held opponents to 3 runs or less in 10 of 12 games this month.
Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 2.68 ERA) has been solid since returning from a stint on the IL with a right groin injury. Eovaldi has allowed just 5 ER over his last three starts and Texas has won two of those games.
Why the Mariners Have Value on Saturday
Eovaldi has been pitching well since returning from the IL, but the good thing is Seattle likely won’t need a ton of runs to win Saturday’s game. The Texas offense is in shambles right now, being held to 3 runs or less in 8 of their last 10.
Seattle’s offense hasn’t been the greatest recently either, but they did have a stretch of 27 runs scored over four games last week.
Even if the Mariners don’t get to Eovaldi on Saturday, a single run might do the job the way George Kirby dominates this Texas team. The Seattle starter is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in six career starts vs. Texas. The Rangers have Corey Seager back in the lineup after he missed a game this week but he’s 0-10 in his career vs. Kirby. The Seattle right-hander has allowed just 3 ER in his first two starts in June and has a 2.72 ERA at home this year.
Free June 15th Rangers at Mariners Betting Pick
It’s hard to overlook just how dominant Kirby has been against Texas in his young career. When you combine that with the Rangers offense being in a slump and Seattle being 25-12 at home compared to Texas being a sub .500 team on the road this play goes one way.
Free Pick: Mariners -126
