The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will finish their AL West series on Sunday afternoon in Oakland. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds series, which includes a Mariners-Athletics prediction and pick we have laid out below.
Seattle made some impressive maneuvers at the trade deadline, adding to an already playoff contending team. With a 66-55 record, Seattle owns the second AL Wild Card spot. Trailing only the Houston Astros in their division, the Wild Card spot would be the first playoff berth for this team since 2001, the longest drought in the league.
Oakland is in baseball purgatory, alternating between contention and rebuilding at a dizzying pace. The team's 44-77 record is the worst total in the American League, and trailing only Washington for the worst record in the league. Still, there is something to play for here, with young players getting their first extended taste of the big leagues.
Here are the Mariners-Athletics MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Mariners-Athletics Odds
Seattle Mariners: -1.5 (-125)
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (+104)
Over: 7 (+102)
Under: 7 (-124)
Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread
The Mariners will send their best pitcher to the mound in this one, with Luis Castillo toeing the rubber. Castillo cost the team a prospect haul, but he has lived up to the billing in his time with the club. Castillo is 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his 20.2 innings across his three starts with Seattle. The hard-throwing righty has struck out nearly 27% of batters he has faced. Batters have yet to figure out the fastball, with a measly .135 batting average against the pitch that averages 97 mph. Even more impressive, opposing hitters have managed just four extra-base hits against Castillo's fastball.
Seattle's bullpen has been nails with a 3.36 ERA as a group, ranking ninth in the league in that category. Impressing is rookie Matt Brash, who moved out of the rotation after five disastrous starts. In his 15 relief appearances, Brash has pitched to a microscopic 2.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 15 innings. Brash has some of the best stuff in the bullpen, with an upper 90s fastball and a whirling slider, and is clearly best suited for that role currently. Andres Munoz, he of the triple-digits fastball, owns a 2.55 ERA in 49.1 innings, striking out 78 batters in that time. A somewhat unsung hero in this bullpen is Erik Swanson. Swanson has appeared in 40 games, pitching to a minuscule 0.95 ERA. Closer Paul Sewald continues his career resurgence in Seattle, with a 2.22 ERA and 16 saves so far this season.
Seattle's offense is strong, led by the power-hitting abilities of third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez leads the team with 22 home runs, one of five Mariners who have reached double digits in that category. Star rookie Julio Rodriguez has battled some injuries, but he looks like the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year honors. Rodriguez has bashed 19 dingers and stolen 22 bases in his 104 games. Ty France has been the best all-around hitter in the lineup, hitting .287 with 14 home runs and 19 doubles in 101 games. Seattle is fourth in the league with 438 walks and 12th in the league with 135 home runs.
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
Oakland has … struggled this year. Like, really struggled. Still, they are sending a possible future rotation stalwart in JP Sears to the mound. Sears is 4-0 on the season, with a 1.95 ERA in his 32.1 innings with both Oakland and the New York Yankees. Sears was acquired for Frankie Montas at the trade deadline. Sears is making his third start for Oakland this afternoon. Sears does not throw overly hard, but his off-speed pitches have combined to hold batters to a sub-.100 batting average. Oakland's bullpen has struggled at times, but AJ Puk, Zach Jackson, and Domingo Acevedo are all bright spots, with ERAs below 3.00. Closer Dany Jimenez has not allowed an earned run in his last nine appearances and owns a 3.31 ERA on the season.
As you could guess for a club that is nearly 40 games below .500, offense has been an issue in Oakland. Only four Athletics have reached double-digit home runs, with Seth Brown leading the team at 17. Sean Murphy has continued to impress, belting 16 home runs and 27 doubles. Since debuting in 2019, Murphy has solidified himself as one of the better offensive catchers in the game. Other than that, there is not much to be said about an offense that finds itself towards the bottom of nearly every statistical category.
Final Mariners-Athletics Prediction & Pick
Luis Castillo should be able to work his way through this lineup with surgical precision considering the lack of firewpower.
Final Mariners-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Seattle -1.5 (-125), over 7 (+102)
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