John Bollman's Bet of the Day - 9/6

The Seattle Mariners face off against the Chicago White Sox in the second game of this crucial three game series in Seattle. Both these teams are currently battling for playoff spots. The Chicago White Sox are just two games back in the AL Central while the Seattle Mariners are currently five games up on the Baltimore Orioles for the last Wild Card spot. The Mariners are 76-59 on the season and 35-29 at home this season. That includes a 37-34 record against teams with winning records. The White Sox are just one game over .500 at 68-67 and they are slightly better on the road at 34-31. They are much worse against good teams as they are 30-38 against teams over .500 this season. The Mariners have been playing much better lately though, they are 18-8 in the last 30 days including 7-4 at home. The White Sox on the other hand are just 14-14 in the last 30 days including 5-7 on the road. The White Sox were able to get the win yesterday, but the Mariners had a tough travel schedule. Their Sunday game was delayed so long that they ended up essentially playing a Sunday Night game before traveling cross country back to Seattle. I think they will be much more rested today.

Logan Gilbert is starting for the Mariners. He hasn’t been as good lately as he is 1-1 with a 5.12 ERA in his last seven starts. However, those numbers are inflated by two bad starts. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last three starts, and he is coming off six shutout innings against the Tigers. The Mariners also have the second ranked bullpen in the league in the last 30 days behind him. Johnny Cueto is starting for the White Sox. He has been so good for them all season, but he has struggled a bit more lately. He is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his last seven starts. The White Sox have the 24th ranked bullpen in the league in the last 30 days behind him. The Mariners were also able to save all their top bullpen arms yesterday while the White Sox had Kendall Graveman throw 27 pitches and Liam Hendriks throw 30 pitches. I think the Mariners are able to bounce back from yesterday’s loss and pick up the win at home tonight.