Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros Betting Preview
AL West rivals will square off in the second of a four-game series Friday as the Seattle Mariners (54-46) take on the Houston Astros (65-35). The Astros will host this one at Minute Maid Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:10 pm ET.
In the first game of this series on Thursday, the Astros were victorious 4-2. Jose Urquidy pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Rafael Montero picked up the win in relief while Ryan Pressly picked up his 21st save of the season.
Offensively, Alex Bregman shined in this one. He went two for four with a home run, three runs batted in, and two runs scored.
For Seattle, Logan Gilbert pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Andre Munoz picked up the loss in relief, though, as he gave up two runs in an inning.
J.P. Crawford had two of the Mariners’ five hits, while Ty France and Carlos Santana had the lone runs batted in for Seattle.
The Astros are the favorite playing at home Friday. They are -184 to win while the Mariners’ moneyline sits at +154. The runline features Seattle +1.5 (-150), and the over/under for total runs is seven.
Seattle Trying To Cut Into Divisional Deficit
At 54-46, the Mariners have been outstanding this season, especially as of late. They are 17-4 in their last 21 games, but their four losses have all been against Houston. Trying to cut into their 11-game divisional deficit, Seattle will hope to get into the win column against the Astros on Friday.
Taking the mound for the Mariners is reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. In 20 games this season, Ray is 8-7 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, and he has 136 strikeouts in 120 innings.
Ray faced Houston in his last start and was roughed up. He lasted just three innings, giving up ten hits and six earned runs.
Offensively, 21-year-old Julio Rodriguez is a star in the making. The favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award (-500), Rodriguez is hitting .272/.336/.485 with a team-leading 18 home runs, 56 runs batted in, 55 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases.
Mariners’ slugger Carlos Santana is no stranger to the Astros’ starter Justin Verlander. In 81 at bats against the righty, he is hitting .235 with nine home runs and 15 runs batted in. Kyle Lewis has also taken Verlander deep twice in his career.
Astros Eyeing World Series Return
After losing to the Atlanta Braves last season in the World Series, the Astros are hoping for a return trip to finally get manager Dusty Baker his first World Series win. With an 11-game lead in the division, the Astros are a good bet to win the AL West, but they are hoping to win it all, which they have the third-best odds of doing at +450.
On the mound for Baker’s club, Friday will be future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander. In 18 starts, the 39-year-old righty is 13-3 with a 1.86 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, and he has 117 strikeouts in 116.1 innings. Verlander currently has the second-best odds of winning the Cy Young at +260.
In his last start, Verlander held the Mariners to just a single run in seven innings while striking out nine. He has allowed just two runs in his last 19 innings while striking out 27 in that span.
Slugger Yordan Alvarez continues to lead the Astros’ offense. In 288 at bats, he is hitting .309/.414/.674 with a team-leading 29 home runs, 67 runs batted in, and 65 runs scored.
Against the Mariners’ Ray, Jose Altuve, and Kyle Tucker have had a ton of success. In 19 at bats, Altuve is hitting .579 with two home runs and four runs batted in. Not to be outdone, Tucker is hitting .571 in seven at bats with two home runs and three runs batted in.
Take Houston To Win At Home
While the Astros likely won’t knock Robbie Ray out by the third inning like in his last start, there is still a lot to like about Houston in this one.
First, Justin Verlander, despite being 39 years old, has definitely pitched like the Cy Young contender that he is. Despite returning from Tommy John surgery, Verlander has been dominant in almost every start this year.
Furthermore, while the Mariners are solid on the road (27-23), Houston is a whole different animal at home. They are 31-14 at Minute Maid Park and are 15-5 in their last 20 at home versus the Mariners.
It could be close, so taking the Mariners on the runline at +1.5 (-146) isn’t an awful play, but there should be a lot of confidence in taking Houston to win outright at -184 Friday.
