The Seattle Mariners take on the Texas Rangers in Texas for the second game of this three game series between division rivals. At least, some would say they are still rivals after what’s been happening lately. The Mariners jumped out to an early lead last night in Game one of this series and they never looked back. The Rangers made it a game at one point, but the Mariners were able to separate themselves late in the game to pick up the win. Julio Rodriguez was back in the lineup with Mitch Haniger in there as well, it was honestly the best Mariners lineup I have seen all season. JP Crawford has been great for the Mariners all season batting in the middle of the order for most of the season. Well, the lineup was so deep yesterday that he was batting last. I don’t expect any off days for any of the Mariners players either after the team had Thursday off.
Marco Gonzales will be starting for the Mariners, and he has been very good all season, although he has been a little more inconsistent lately. He has allowed five or more runs in three of his last five starts but before those three times he had done it just one time all season. He has also faced the Rangers four times already this season allowing three earned runs or fewer in three of the four games. Most recently, he allowed just two earned runs in seven innings pitched against the Rangers. The Rangers are also struggling against lefties right now, they are ranked just 25th in the league in wOBA against lefties since the All-Star break. Dane Dunning is starting for the Rangers, and he is much better at home with a 3.00 ERA on the season. He has also pitched decent against the Mariners this season not allowing more than three earned runs in any of the starts.
However, the Mariners have a massive bullpen advantage. They are ranked 8th in bullpen ERA since the All-Star break while the Rangers are ranked 18th . The Rangers also had four of their top five relievers throw over 20 pitches last night, with three of them throwing 29 pitches or more. If they make an appearance today, I doubt their arms will be feeling too good. The Mariners have also owned this matchup history winning nine straight games against the Rangers including a 12-2 record this season. The Mariners have also won 17 of the last 19 games between these teams overall. Take the Mariners as underdogs.
John's BOTD:
Mariners ML vs Rangers | +100
