Little Breathing Room in AL West
The Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros come into Monday’s meeting in second and third place, respectively, in the American League West. They are both trying to chase down the first-place Los Angeles Angels. Both teams have been very average as of late, with each psot a 5-5 mark in their last 10 games. Only one game separates the two teams as they head into this three-game series.
Let’s check the latest MLB picks, stats, injury reports, and MLB odds for Mariners vs Astros. We’ve plenty of MLB predictions, MLB lines and MLB Spreads for you to consider.
Mariners Looking for Consistency
The Seattle Mariners are still looking to get consistency from their entire roster. While guys like Ty France and J.P. Crawford are staying hot, big offseason additions like Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker are struggling mightily since being traded over from the Cincinnati Reds. If the Mariners can get their whole offensive lineup firing, this could be a very potent lineup to contend with in what is seeming like a very volatile AL West.
While the pitching staff has not been terrible, it has also been anything but stellar. They have one of the better bullpens in baseball, but as a whole, the entire pitching staff is average at best. It’s extremely hard to use the bullpen effectively to win games if the starters can’t get them the ball with the lead. That is also on the offense to provide run support.
Just barely above .500, the Mariners have nearly a one-run differential per game, which means they aren’t doing too bad. They will need to find the consistency to give themselves a chance to compete for an AL West crown.
Astros Not the Same
The Houston Astros just aren’t the powerful and dominant team that we have seen over the past half-decade. Gone are key components that helped spark production in the lineup while the pitching staff lacks the big-name arms that once formed a rotation to be feared.
Let’s not be mistaken. The Astros still have the ability to compete in the free for all that the AL West has become, but the pure domination doesn’t seem to be there right now. The offense is just not producing runs, only averaging 3.7 runs per game to rank 22nd in the majors. They will need to get it going to stay in the running for the postseason.
The pitching staff has a lot of up-and-down performances from guys that need to produce quality performances. Jake Odorizzi is one of those guys. He will toe the rubber on Monday night. He struggled in his first few starts but looked extremely good in his last outing, going six innings and giving up only one hit and one run.
Mariners vs Astros Head-to-Head
Seattle took two of three games in mid-April. In both of Seattle’s wins, the offense showed up to play, winning 11-1 and 7-2. The offenses may be aided on both sides by playing in the hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park.
Marco Gonzales and Odorizzi square off for the second time this season. Last time out against the Mariners, Odorizzi was smacked around the yard pretty good and the bullpen let the game out of hand. Gonzales went seven strong in that game, but he is coming off a forearm contusion after being hit by a ball in his last start.
Mariners vs Astros Game Information
- Game: Mariners (12-10) vs Astros (11-11)
- Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
- Day/Time: Monday, May 2nd 8:10 p.m. ET
- Mariners vs Astros Live Stream: MLB.tv
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Mariners vs Astros Betting Lines
Mariners vs Astros Prediction
MLB lines continue to have the Astros as the favorites, but the Mariners are not far behind in sportsbooks. These teams are about even on paper right now, And both teams just dropped two out of three games in their weekend series. But after two hard-fought games for the Astros, they might be lagging a bit. Right now, the Mariners have the hotter hand and are worth taking.
When you bet online, take the money line win by the Mariners at +120 on the road.
