Two American League teams that have been slumping of late meet for the first time since last season as the Seattle Mariners will travel to the Great North to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. It is time to check out our MLB odds series, where our Mariners-Blue Jays prediction and pick will take place.
After a strong start to this season, the Mariners have slightly fizzled off since then and have not been able to remain consistent. Facing off against his former team will be lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who would love to show up his previous employer with his 1-1 record and 4.15 ERA in his first six starts of 2022.
The same can be said for Toronto, as the Blue Jays had sky-high expectations of possibly being a World Series contender during the 2022 calendar year. Sitting only a game above .500 at 18-17, the Blue Jays will seek to kick things in high gear starting off with a victory against Seattle in front of their home crowd. On the bump for the Jays will be Chris Flexen, who already has a lowly 1-5 record in his six outings thus far.
Here are the Mariners-Blue Jays odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB odds: Mariners-Blue Jays Odds
Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-160)
Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+130)
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
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Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread
After a 2021 campaign that saw the Mariners nearly reach the postseason for the first time in more than two decades with 90 wins, expectations were as high as they've been in quite some time entering 2022. Despite the Mariners not appearing to be that same caliber team as they were early in the season, there is still plenty of time to change their losing narrative.
Believe it or not, Seattle did just that over the weekend by taking two of three games over a New York Mets team that has been one of the best teams in all of baseball. The victorious triumph out in Queens against New York marked the Mariners' first road series win of the season, which signaled the beginning of a long 10-game road trip as visitors.
Trailing the Angels and Astros by seven games in the AL West, the Mariners will look to cover the spread in this one and gain some serious ground in the division by stringing together some base hits and keeping Blue Jays hitters on their toes. At the dish, the Mariners have been slightly average as a team, but they have been carried by third baseman Ty France, who has hit .331 while raking in 25 RBI to lead Seattle thus far.
Pitching wise, it has been a similar story, as Seattle is almost identically ranked in comparison to their MLB peers when looking at their offensive and pitching splits. Flexen will be given the chance to flex his muscles on Monday, as the 27-year-old California native has an earned-run average of 4.09 through 11 innings pitched against Toronto in his career.
Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread
At the halfway point in the month of May, the Blue Jays suddenly find themselves 7.5 games back of the division lead in the American League East. While this has been a combination of the stellar play by the New York Yankees and inconsistent showings by the Blue Jays, Toronto still has time to show what it is all about in the coming month. This certainly was not the case over the weekend, as the Blue Jays dropped the ultimate rubber match on Sunday to the Rays, capping off a very poor 2-7 road trip.
Eager to return home to Rogers Centre, the story of this game will be Kikuchi's revenge game against his former Mariners squad. With extra fuel added to the fire in this one for the Japanese hurler, Kikuchi had over 70 starts under his belt in Seattle, going 15-24 with a 4.97 ERA. While not the numbers he surely would've liked to post during his tenure in the Pacific Northwest, Kikuchi is still able to pitch a gem from time to time when his pitches are hitting on all cylinders.
Offensively, this is a lineup that still boasts extreme power and even some solid players who provide contact when faced with two strikes in the count.
Unexpectedly, it has been second baseman Santiago Espinal who has led the team in hitting with his .282 batting average, While Vladimir Guerrero Jr has a team-high 20 RBI, centerfielder George Springer has looked the part of his old self in Houston by slugging seven home runs to lead all Blue Jays hitters.
Final Mariners-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick
The lefty Kikuchi is coming off back-to-back outings of easily his best performances on the year, as he has punched out at least seven hitters in those two latest starts. With Kikuchi dealing and extra motivation playing a big factor in this one, expect the Blue Jays to silence the Mariners bats and do just enough on offense to get the job done in Toronto.
Final Mariners-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (+130)
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