The New York Yankees take on the Seattle Mariners. Check out our MLB odds series for our Yankees Mariners prediction and pick.

Gerrit Cole takes the bump for the Yankees, while Luis Castillo goes to the mound for the Mariners.

Gerrit Cole gave up more runs in the first inning of last week's start against the Mariners than in any other inning of his MLB career. Cole allowed six runs, the product of three different home runs. Eugenio Suarez, Carlos Santana, and Jerred Kelenic all hit no-doubters against him in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were down six runs before anyone's seat was warm. This is obviously a moment for Cole to bounce back, regroup, and show that he is still an ace-level pitcher. He has had some rocky starts this season other than the one against the Mariners. He was similarly rocked for multiple home runs by the Twins several weeks ago. Cole started slowly out of the blocks in April. He needs to show that he can be the dominant stopper the Yankees will need in October. This game is an important measuring stick for him, given what happened last week in New York.

Luis Castillo opposed Cole last Wednesday in Yankee Stadium. Getting six runs in the first inning is something he can't get used to. He knows each pitch in this game is likely to carry a lot more pressure. Castillo wasn't spectacular in his Mariner debut last week. He gave up a few runs and didn't have supreme command, but with a six-run lead, Castillo did not need to be perfect. He did a very good job of protecting that fat lead. Assuming Cole pitches well in this game, Castillo will have to make a lot of important pitches in which the Yankees will try to take the lead or tie. Castillo, not just Cole, has a lot to prove in this game.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Yankees-Mariners MLB odds.

MLB Odds: Yankees-Mariners Odds

New York Yankees: -1.5 (+126)

Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-152)

Over: 7 (-108)

Under: 7 (-112)

Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread

The Yankees' bats woke up on Sunday in St. Louis. They remained thunderous on Monday in Seattle, and this time, they got solid pitching to go along with it. Now that the Yankees have finally snapped their annoyingly long losing streak (at five games), maybe everyone will relax and get back to playing quality baseball, which is what we saw with this team in the first three months of the season. The Yankees punched the Mariners in the mouth, and now Gerrit Cole will try to avenge last week's disaster. He should be up to the task.

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Why The Mariners Could Cover the Spread

After last week's horrible outing by Gerrit Cole against the Mariners, many people are going to think that Cole will be a lot better this time versus Seattle. Those folks are going to be right … but if Cole is a lot better than last week, that could still mean he will give up two or three runs in this game. If that happens, Luis Castillo could shut out the Yankees and bring home a 2-0 or 3-0 win. The Mariners won a series last week against the Yankees. More specifically, they lost Game 1 on a Monday and then won on Tuesday and Wednesday. That could happen this week as well. Also: Matt Carpenter fractured his foot and will be out for this game.

Final Yankees-Mariners Prediction & Pick

One should expect Cole and Castillo to both pitch better than they did last week. Cole, though, has more to prove and will probably be a little sharper. The Yankees should be able to find enough runs to win, probably be a 3-1 score.

Final Yankees-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Yankees -1.5