After splitting the first two games of the series, the Tampa Bay Rays (57-29) and Seattle Mariners (39-42) will battle it out in the rubber match Sunday afternoon. The Mariners will host this one at T-Mobile Park, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 pm ET.
On Saturday, the Mariners were able to pull off a 8-3 win over Tampa Bay. In the victory, J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez combined for six hits, three runs batted in, and three runs scored. George Kirby picked up the win after allowing just two earned runs over seven innings.
The Mariners are the favorites to win Sunday playing at home. They are -142 to win, while the Rays’ moneyline sits at +120. The runline features Tampa Bay +1.5 (-182), and the over/under for total runs is 7.5 (-110).
Rays Look To Keep Up AL East Dominance
At 57-29, the Tampa Bay Rays not only have the best record in the AL East, but they have the best record in baseball. Still, in a loaded AL East, the Rays sit with a 6.5-game lead. They will look to keep the pressure on the rest of the division by trying to secure a series win on the road, where they are 23-19 to date.
The Rays will send 22-year-old Taj Bradley to the mound Sunday. In 11 games, the righty is 5-4 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and he has 73 strikeouts in 53 innings. He was roughed up a bit in his last outing, giving up six earned runs in just four innings.
Offensively, the Rays have the third-best offense in baseball, averaging 5.64 runs per game. They are led by Randy Arozarena, who is hitting .284/.397/.478 with 15 home runs, 57 runs batted in, and 51 runs scored.
Also, keep an eye on Francisco Mejia, who has two home runs and four runs batted in over six at bats versus the Mariners’ Luis Castillo.
Mariners Look To Stay Strong At Home
Currently sitting fourth in the AL West, 10 games out of first, the Seattle Mariners have not lived up to expectations thus far. Still, having gone a solid 23-20 at home this year, the Mariners will look to keep up their strong home play and secure the series win.
The Mariners will hand the ball to 30-year-old righty Luis Castillo in the finale. In 16 games, he is 5-6 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and he has 108 strikeouts in 94.1 innings of work. In his last three outings, Castillo is 1-2 and has given up seven earned runs in 17.2 innings.
Seattle ranks 14th in baseball in scoring, averaging 4.46 runs per game. Teoscar Hernandez (15 HR, 48 RBI), Julio Rodriguez (13 HR, 43 RBI, 48 R, 19 SB), and Jarred Kelenic (11 HR, 36 RBI, 36 R) all lead the Mariners’ offense.
Take The Rays On The Road
Looking at the trends, the Rays are 4-2 in their last six games and 6-2 in their last eight games against the Mariners. In their last 20 games against American League teams, the Rays are 13-7.
For the Mariners, they are just 2-5 in their last seven games and 7-13 in their last 20 games against American League foes. In four of their last five games, the UNDER has hit for Seattle.
While Luis Castillo has better numbers as a whole than youngster Taj Bradley, it is hard to ignore the Rays’ dominance this season. Especially as underdogs, there is a lot of value in taking the Rays to win straight up (+120) on the road Sunday afternoon.
