Dallas Keuchel (8-2, 2.04 ERA) gets the ball for the Houston Astros (40-29) as they go up against Taijuan Walker (4-6, 5.00 ERA) and the Seattle Mariners (31-37) in the second of a three-game series at Safeco Field. The Mariners won the last game 5-2 and Seattle leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 10:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 20 and will air on ROOT-SW, ROOT-NW and MLB.
Walker is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.47 WHIP against the Astros in his career. Nelson Cruz (.315, 35 Rs, 18 HRs, 42 RBIs, 1 SB) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 2 with one run and one RBI. In his pitching opportunities against the Mariners, Keuchel is 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA. He gets a less-than-stellar Seattle offense that’s batting just .233. George Springer (.278, 36 Rs, 11 HRs, 25 RBIs, 13 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI.
Seattle is a small underdog (+103) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at six runs. The Mariners are 11-14 as the underdog and have an overall money line of -1,165. They have an SU record of 14-14 against teams in their division and a 4-5 record when they were the underdog in those games. The Mariners seem to play better against their division opponents, averaging 3.7 runs per game, well over their season average of 3.4. Whenever an AL West opponent shows up on the calendar, the Mariners seem to struggle with pitching. They allow an average of 4.1 runs per game, but allow 4.7 against teams from their own division.
Switching to the opposing bench, the Astros come into this game with a win percentage of .576 when playing as the favorite (19-14) and an overall money line of +1,025. Against divisional opponents, they are 20-12 SU and 6-7 as the favorite. Houston has been playing better lately, averaging 5.8 runs per game, more than their season average of 4.5. Houston is one of the top hitting teams in the league with 224 extra base hits. Houston is a terror on the base paths, ranking third in the MLB with 56 stolen bases. Shifting to the pitching staff, they have the fourth-lowest ERA in the AL at 3.54. They have a WHIP of 1.17, best in the MLB. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in the AL with an average of 7.8 strikeouts per game.
The Astros had the upper hand against the Mariners in their previous 11 games this season, earning an 8-3 record. This game will feature Keuchel (LHP) on the mound against the Mariners, who have a 6-7 record when they take on a left-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Astros will be the right-hander Walker. Right-handed starters haven’t been a big issue for them as they sport a 26-14 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, O/U – Under
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Houston is 16-11, while Seattle is 10-8.
The Mariners are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Astros have a 2-5 record when opponents give up that many walks.
When they are outhit, the Astros are 9-20. The Mariners have a 10-21 record when opponents outhit them.
Houston tops the league in home runs with 99 this season. Seattle ranks in the top half at 11th with 68.
Seattle and Houston both rank in the top half of the league in hits. Seattle sits at 15th with 7.82 hits per game and Houston ranks 12th with 8.07.
Ranking 27th, Seattle is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.670). Houston ranks in the top 10 at sixth with an OPS of .735.
The Astros are 15-20 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Mariners are 12-31 when they allow at least one homer.
