Pineda, Bronx Bombers travel to Seattle
Offense has rarely been a problem for the 2016 Mariners. Holding down the opposition is a different story.
Seattle banged out 11 hits in yesterday’s series finale vs. Milwaukee, but the parade of baserunners amounted to little in a 7-6 defeat. Manager Scott Servais hopes for more balance when tonight’s opener against the Yankees rolls around, with a 10:10 p.m. ET first pitch at Safeco Field. Yet handicappers at online sports book BetDSI lean toward New York, while the host club enters as a +106 underdog. The over/under run figure sits at eight.
The M’s lead the American League West in homers (172), OBP (.327) and slugging percentage (.433). With the exception of ace Felix Hernandez, though, the squad’s hurlers keep struggling. Seattle’s bullpen ERA ballooned to 3.69 after letting the Brewers go wild over the weekend.
Will Cody Martin surprise us all this evening? The 26-year-old takes the rotation spot vacated by James Paxton (bruised elbow). At the very least, Martin must work fairly deep into the affair, as Servais was forced to use five relievers last night.
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For the Bronx Bombers, Michael Pineda nabs his 25th assignment of the season. He totes a 2-6 record with a 5.11 ERA on the road. Most recently, however, the former top prospect fired five scoreless innings vs. Toronto.
One wonders if the Yankees are finally beginning to fade. Sunday’s loss at Los Angeles dropped them to 63-60 and 6 1/5 games out of the AL East race. Nonetheless, we like the visitors’ prospects of producing some thunder in the Pacific Northwest. Prepare for a back-and-forth battle.
MONDAY MLB FREE PICK: YANKEES/MARINERS OVER 8 RUNS