In the last of a three-game series between the Cleveland Indians (27-31) and the Seattle Mariners (27-31) at Progressive Field, Shaun Marcum (2-1, 5.19 ERA) and J.A. Happ (3-1, 3.31 ERA) get the ball. The Mariners won the last game 9-3 and Seattle leads the series 2-0. The game starts at 12:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jun. 11 and will air on ROOT-NW, STO and MLB Net.
Marcum is 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA against the Mariners in his career, and faces a struggling Seattle offense that’s hitting just .239 on the year. Jason Kipnis (.333, 41 Rs, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs, 8 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. In his career against the Indians, Happ is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts. Kyle Seager (.280, 24 Rs, 10 HRs, 34 RBIs, 1 SB) has been hitting the ball well, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and five RBIs.
Cleveland, a -116 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Seattle. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at eight runs. When playing as the favorite, the Indians have a 17-20 record and overall money line at -931. Cleveland has been struggling as of late. In the last 10 games, Cleveland has only averaged 3.0 runs per game compared to the 4.3 they’ve averaged on the season. They have been very patient at the plate, leading the AL with an average of 3.8 walks per game. Cleveland’s pitching staff has put it all together in the past 10 games. Its average runs allowed per game dropped to 3.1 during that span, compared to its 4.3 season average. The have been extremely effective at striking opposing batters out, leading the AL with 9.6 strikeouts per game.
On the other side, the Mariners have a subpar record of 8-12 when they are the underdog and are -1,017 overall with the money line. During the last 10 games, they averaged 1.9 runs per game, below their 3.4 season average.
The Indians will take on a left-hander (Happ) in this game and have a 10-13 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Mariners will be the right-hander Marcum. They sport a 21-26 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, O/U – Under
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Seattle is 10-8, while Cleveland is 9-11.
The Indians managed to give up seven walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Mariners who are coming in with a 2-1 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Mariners have a slight leg up on the Indians, as the Mariners have won their last two games while the Indians have lost their last three.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 14-12. The Indians have a 22-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th, Seattle sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 208 this season. Cleveland ranks in the top half at 15th with 247.
Cleveland ranks at the top of the league when it comes to walks with 221 this season. Seattle ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 166.
The Indians are 21-14 when they hit at least one home run. The Mariners perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 23-15 record.
