Mariners vs. Royals Pick
Can the Kansas City Royals get another win over the Seattle Mariners when the two meet up tonight at 8:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Seattle is favored on the road, as the Mariners are getting odds of -160 to win. The Royals are listed with a money line of +135 to win, while the over/under total for the game has been set at 8.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup tonight has James Paxton (11-3, 2.68 ERA) on the mound for the Mariners to face Jason Hammel (5-8, 4.75) of the Royals. Paxton has been on a great run, allowing two runs or less over his last six starts, including back-to-back scoreless starts. He has 125 strikeouts with 31 walks and a 1.10 WHIP this season. Hammel hasn’t been terrible, but has allowed three runs in four of his last five starts. Hammel has 93 strikeouts on the year with 36 walks and a 1.39 WHIP.
The Royals picked up a 6-4 win over the Mariners in Thursday’s series opener. KC has won all four meetings with Seattle this year. The Royals are now 56-51 overall and 31-23 at home while the Mariners are 55-55 overall and 23-28 on the road.
KC relied heavily on its bullpen in Thursday’s win. Trevor Cahill lasted just 4.2 innings, so the Royals pitched 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Emilio Pagan allowed three runs in two innings of relief to take the loss for Seattle. Brandon Moss has two home runs and three RBI for the Royals in the win. Moss now has 14 home runs on the season. Melky Cabrera and Lorenzo Cain each added two hits in the win. Seattle was led by Kyle Seager, who had his 15th home run of the season.
Kansas City has had Seattle’s number all season thus far, but Paxton has been too dialed in for that to continue tonight. I see Paxton putting on another strong start against this Kansas City lineup, which can go cold quickly. Hammel will give up a handful of runs and not last too long, which will be tough for the Royals, who used six pitchers on Thursday.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: SEATTLE MARINERS -160