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Two of the top teams in the AL West go toe-to-toe on Saturday to prove that they are legit contenders in the American League. Join us for our MLB odds series, where our Mariners-Astros prediction and pick will be made.
The Mariners enter play in a streaky mood as they are currently on a two-game slide after securing three consecutive victories. While winning the division at this point is mostly a lost cause, Seattle is still in firm position at locking down a Wild Card spot. Scheduled to take the mound for the Mariners will be righty Chris Flexen, who will look to flex his muscles with his 7-8 overall record and 3.75 ERA.
After losing three straight, the Astros have handled business against Seattle by winning the opening two games of the series. Now with a 12-game lead in the division, Houston will send out lefty Framber Valdez in an attempt to secure the series victory. Valdez is 9-4 with a 2.74 ERA thus far.
Here are the Mariners-Astros MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Mariners-Astros Odds
Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-126)
Houston Astros: -1.5 (+105)
Over: 8 (-105)
Under: 8 (-115)
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Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread
A pair of gut-wrenching defeats against a division rival is never a good feeling. This was the exact case over the course of the past couple days, as the Mariners were simply put on blast on Friday in an 11-1 blowout loss. When these types of games occur, all a team can do is move on knowing that there is still another day of games to be played. Fortunately, as a whole, Seattle has transformed themselves overnight into a quality squad that appears to be way closer to contender status rather than being pretenders. With much better execution in the little details, Seattle can certainly cover the spread against Houston on Saturday evening.
By the sixth inning yesterday, the Astros saw themselves jump out to a 9-0 lead, further putting a fork in Friday night's matchup at Minute Maid Park. In order to get back on track if you're Seattle, getting off to a hot start is almost vital if they want any chance later tonight. Even more so, receiving timely hits from this at times explosive offense could be the key to success.
On the season, Seattle has reminded the league what makes them so dangerous in the first place. With an array of young talent in players like first-baseman Ty France and center-fielder Julio Rodriguez, the outlook of a contest can change in the blink of an eye with one swing of the bat. Be on the lookout for one of these playmaking youngsters to leave their imprint on the game if Seattle is going to find success.
Additionally, it would also be helpful if Chris Flexen could extend his unbeaten start streak to eight games in a row on Saturday. He has gone 5-0 with a 2.79 ERA over that span.
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The baseball world is quite aware of how good this team can be, but with each passing game, Houston further reiterates just how special they can be in 2022. This was on full display last night, as the ‘Stros played a nearly perfect game to dispose of their divisional rivals out in the Pacific Northwest. Not to mention, but Houston made one of the hottest teams in baseball over the course of the last month and a half look like they were lost at sea on Friday.
Outhitting the Mariners 15-6 to kick off the weekend, it was the utter dominance of future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander that stole the show. At the ripe age of 39, the epic performance by Verlander saw himself notch his league-high 14th win of the season. With this being quite the feat, the expected starter on Saturday in Framber Valdez would want nothing more to follow in Verlander's footsteps. All in all, Valdez has pitched magnificently this season. In his last start against the Mariners coming only six days ago, Valdez fired 6 2/3 innings pitched en route to surrendering only three runs and punching out eight hitters. Simply put, all-eyed will be on the 28-year-0ld from the Dominican Republic when the first pitch arrives this evening.
In addition, don't be shocked if the Astros still have the firepower from yesterday's matchup to carry over into this one. Ranked fifth in slugging percentage at .427 and 9th in on-base percentage at .318, Houston has a knack to reach base before they pummel opposing pitching at the plate with a slew of extra-base hits and home runs. After launching four homers yesterday, can this lineup do it again?
Final Mariners-Astros Prediction & Pick
Obviously, these are hands down the two best teams in the American League West. However, the difference in overall talent and the ability to consistently win games is what separates these two squads by a wide margin. While Seattle will surely play much better than what they showed on Friday, expect the Astros to still overwhelm them in more ways than one.
Final Mariners-Astros Prediction & Pick: Astros -1.5 (+105)
