The Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers open a three-game set on Monday at the Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
Mike Leake will open on top of the mound for Seattle. The 31-year old former Arizona State standout has started in a total of nine games this season and has a record of 3-4. The right-hander from San Diego, California has an ERA of 4.0, WHIP of .135 and a BAA of .285 this season.
In a total of 54 innings pitched, Leake has allowed 30 runs (24 earned) in a total of 63 hits with 10 home runs. He has walked a total of 10 batters this season while striking out 41 others. Leake got the win in his last start as he allowed just one earned run on five hits in 6.2 innings of pitch work as the Mariners beat the A’s last May 14th.
Dee Gordon leads Seattle with his .291 batting average while designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion leads the Mariners with 10 home runs while delivering a total of 30 RBIs. Domingo Santana leads the team with 37 RBIs on the season. Seattle is batting at .240 with a total of 241 runs scored already this season.
For the Rangers, it will be Mike Minor who will start for them on Monday against the Mariners. The 31-year old left-hander from Chapel Hill in Tennessee has started in a total of nine games for Texas this season and has amassed a record of 4-3. The former Vanderbilt product has an ERA of 2.61, WHIP of 1.13 and a BAA of .226 for Texas.
Minor has pitched in a total of 58.2 innings and has allowed a total of 47 hits, 17 earned runs and six home runs. He has walked a total of 19 hitters while striking out 56 batters. In his last outing, Minor earned the victory as he allowed one earned run on eight hits as the Rangers beat the Royals 6-1 last May 15th.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus leads the Rangers with his .325 batting average while left fielder Joey Gallo is Texas’ main offensive producer with a team-high 13 home runs and a team-best 32 RBIs on the season. The Rangers are batting at a .255 clip this season while scoring a total of 249 runs.
Who Wins?
Seattle is 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played and the Mariners are 1-4 SU in their last five road games. Texas is 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played. The Rangers are 13-8 SU in their 21 home games played so far this season. Seattle is 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against Texas but the Mariners are just 2-5 SU in their last seven games against the Rangers in Texas.
Seattle is 1-5 SU in Leake’s last five starts and the Mariners are 2-4 SU in Leake’s last six starts on the road. The Mariners are 2-4 in Leake’s last six starts against the Rangers but are 2-1 SU in Leake’s three starts in Texas. The Rangers are 4-6 SU in Minor’s last 10 starts and also 4-6 in his last 10 starts at home. The Rangers are 1-5 SU in Minor’s last six starts against the Mariners and are 0-3 SU in Minor’s last three home starts against Seattle.
Seattle is 1-3 SU in their last four games against left-handed starters and 2-5 SU in their last seven games as betting underdogs. The Mariners are 0-5 SU in their last five road games against a left-handed starter. The Rangers are 4-4 SU in their last eight games against right-handed starters and are 7-3 SU in 10 total games as betting favorites this season. Texas is 4-1 SU in their last five home games against an opponent with a winning record on the road and 4-1 SU in their last five games against a team with a losing record.
Seattle is free-falling right now and they have given up a total of 36 runs in their first three games against the Twins. Their pitching staff has been bad all-season although Leake has pitched better in his last two games. On the other hand, Minor is pitching good early in the season and even if he doesn’t I don’t expect the inconsistent Seattle pitching to prevent runs from scoring. Give me the home team in this match-up as Seattle continues to struggle. I’m picking the Texas Rangers to beat the Seattle Mariners or 5/20/19.\
Other Bets To Make
Seattle is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games played and the Mariners are 1-4 ATS in their last five games played on the road. Texas is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played and are 1-1 ATS in two home games during that period.
Mariners
+1.5 (-110)
Rangers
-1.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 5/20/19
Texas has outscored Seattle by an average more than 8 runs per game in their last 3 meetings. The Mariners’ last six losses have come via at least four runs or more while the Rangers’ last seven games have been decided by five runs or more and their last four wins by three runs or more. Prediction: Rangers -1.5
The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Mariners. Seattle has seen the total go over in four out of their last five games on the road. The over is 25-17-1 in Texas’ 43 total games played this season. The over is 12-9 in the Rangers’ last 21 games played at home this season.
Mariners
O 10.5 -120
Rangers
U 10.5 +100
Odds from betonline.ag as of 5/20/19
The over is 7-3 in Leake’s last 10 starts overall and 6-2 in his last eight road starts. The under is 3-2-1 in Leake’s last six starts against the Rangers and 2-1 in his three stars in Texas. The under is 5-1 in Minor’s last six starts overall and 7-3 in his last 10 starts at home. The over is 3-1 in Minor’s last four starts against the Mariners and the under is 2-1 in his three career starts against the Mariners at home.
Seattle ranked 5th in the Majors with 5.23 runs per game prior to Sunday’s games. The Mariners also ranked 2nd in the Big Leagues with 87 dingers and fifth in stolen bases with 31. Texas entered Sunday leading the Majors with 5.79 runs per game while also being 8th in home runs and third in stolen bases. Seattle is also just 27th overall with a 5.15 ERA while the Rangers are one rank lower at 28th with a 5.21 ERA. Both these teams have been scoring big and giving up runs just the same Prediction: Over 10.5