The Seattle Mariners (38-42, 22-20 home) host the Tampa Bay Rays (57-28, 23-18 away) in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday evening. Tampa whooped the Mariners in the opener, handing Seattle a 15-4 defeat.
The first pitch of the game is at 7:15 p.m. EST inside T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. Tampa Bay is the betting favorite (-120 moneyline), and the over/under total is nine runs.
What to Know – Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa has won three in a row heading into the weekend after taking the final two from the Arizona Diamondbacks before last night’s series-opening triumph over Seattle. The Rays remain the top team in the AL and hold a 6.5-game lead in the AL East.
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.45 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) is the expected starter for the Rays. Glasnow will try to mimic his last outing, where he logged 12 strikeouts over five innings of work. The 29-year-old has thrown 30.1 innings, allowing 15 earned runs on 26 hits and 14 walks while striking out 45 batters.
Tampa’s offense is third in the league and second in the AL, with a .265 team batting average and scoring 5.6 runs per contest. The pitching staff for the Rays is second in the MLB, featuring a 3.60 team earned run average.
Six players for the Rays have hit ten or more home runs, with eight players driving in 30 or more runners. Randy Arozarena leads the lineup with 57 RBIs backed by 15 home runs, while Jose Siri is the team leader with 16 dingers. Yandy Diaz is batting .316 and has scored 54 runs for the Rays.
What to Know – Seattle Mariners
The Mariners have lost three in a row and five of their last six heading into the final two games of the first half of play. Seattle has dropped to fourth in the AL West, trailing the Texas Rangers by ten games.
George Kirby (6-7, 3.26 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) gets the nod on the mound for Seattle. The righty hopes to forget last month after finishing 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA. Kirby has pitched 94.0 this season, giving up 34 earned runs, 94 hits, seven walks, and striking out 79 batters.
On offense, the Mariners rank 28th amongst league teams batting .229 as a unit and scoring 4.5 runs per game. Seattle’s pitchers are 12th in the league with an even 4.00 team ERA.
Teoscar Hernandez has been Seattle’s most productive hitter, blasting 15 home runs and driving in 46 runners this year. The 22-year-old star Julio Rodriguez is putting together another solid season at the dish, adding 13 home runs and 42 RBIs to pair with his 18 stolen bases.
The Pick is In
Tampa is favored, and rightly so, but the Mariners are built to compete with this Rays lineup. We like Kirby to bounce back on the hill and Seattle to get ahead late in a low-scoring game to even the series.
The Pick: Seattle Mariners ML
