The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners meet on Wednesday night for the second game in a three game AL West series. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Rangers – Mariners prediction and pick.
Texas currently stands at 39-73 and is 13-43 on the road. If you put $100 on every single Rangers game so far this season, you’d be down $2,122 on the money line.
Seattle currently stands at 59-54 and is 33-23 at T-Mobile Park. If you put $100 on every single Mariners game so far this season, you’d be up $2,040 on the money line.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the Rangers-Mariners odds.
MLB Odds: Rangers-Mariners Odds
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Texas Rangers ML (+180)
Seattle Mariners ML (-190)
Over 8 Runs (-115)
Under 8 Runs (-105)
Why The Mariners Could Win This Game
The Mariners will send newcomer Tyler Anderson to the mound tonight in hopes of making it three straight nights with quality outings from their starter.
Anderson has pitched to a 4.35 ERA in 20 starts this year, mostly in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. In his only two starts with the Mariners, Anderson has been solid, pitching five innings in both outings and allowing a total of five earned over the span.
The lefty has racked up 93 strikeouts in 113 innings, and forces plenty of swings and misses. Against a Rangers team that only has one player in the top 80 in barrel rate per plate appearance, it's tough to see Texas getting anything solid off Anderson.
Considering the Rangers are not barreling balls, and have the second lowest team batting average in the league, it's a good bet Anderson gets through five quality innings tonight.
At the plate, the Mariners have been quiet for a few games. However, they have a good chance to bounce back against Spencer Howard and the Texas bullpen.
Howard has been both very hittable and incapable of giving his team length. In eight starts, Howard has never pitched more than four innings. He's allowed two or more runs in five of those eight short starts.
So it's unlikely Howard gets deep into the game, which means he'll have to hand the ball to a bullpen that has been shaky. The Rangers pen has the ninth highest ERA in the league and lacks swing and miss stuff, recording the seventh least amount of strikeouts.
The Mariners are almost guaranteed to get a few runs off Howard, and it's very likely they get one or two more off the Rangers relievers.
Why The Rangers Could Win This Game
Spencer Howard will make his second appearance in a Rangers uniform after Texas acquired him from the Phillies at the trade deadline.
Howard hasn't impressed this season, but he has a fairly easy matchup awaiting him. The Mariners bats aren't exactly scaring anybody and they haven't topped four runs in seven straight games.
Seattle holds the lowest batting average in the league to go along with the fifth most strikeouts. The Mariners get most of their runs from the homer, but Howard has actually been great at limiting the long ball. In 30.2 innings this year, Howard has only allowed three homers.
Add all this together, and we have the potential to see Spencer Howard's best start of the year.
At the plate, the Rangers get a crack at Tyler Anderson. The left-hander has been tagged in nearly all of his starts, allowing one or less earned runs in only three of his 20 starts.
Even against teams with a low OPS like the Rangers, Anderson has surrendered runs. The lefty has faced teams that are bottom five in OBP three times this season. In all three, he's allowed at least three earned runs.
The Rangers lineup might not be deadly, but lineups just as weak have gotten to Anderson.
Final Rangers-Mariners Prediction & Pick
The under has cashed in six of the last seven Mariners games, with the streak of six straight unders getting snapped last night. I think the trend continues tonight against a weak hitting Rangers team with little to no pop in a stadium that is pitcher friendly. I have a hard time seeing how either of these teams will string together enough hits to put up significant runs on the board, and I think this total will be closer to five runs than eight. Give me the under with two of the worst hitting teams in baseball matching up.
FINAL RANGERS-MARINERS PREDICTION: UNDER 8 RUNS (-105)
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