Taijuan Walker (10-7, 4.51 ERA) and Cole Hamels (8-8, 3.70 ERA) start in the second of a four-game series between the Seattle Mariners (66-72) and the Texas Rangers (72-64) at Safeco Field. The Rangers won the last game 3-0 and Texas leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 8 and can be seen on RTNW and FSSW.
Walker pitched 6.2 innings in his last outing, surrendering three runs, striking out three and walking three in an 8-3 defeat to the Astros. Nelson Cruz (.310, 77 Rs, 39 HRs, 82 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Hamels went 7.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out eight and walking one in a 4-3 defeat to the Padres in his most recent start. Rougned Odor (.275, 40 Rs, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run.
Texas takes on Seattle as a -126 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at seven runs. The Mariners have an overall money line of -1,175 and a record as the underdog of 27-30. Within its division, Seattle has an 18-15 as the underdog and a 31-26 SU. The Mariners have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.6 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.0 runs per game. Seattle is one of the best in the AL in terms of walks, earning an average of 3.0 per game.
In games where it is the favorite, Texas has a 16-12 record and an overall money line of +2,348. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games playing as the favorite, and have a 7-3 SU record over the same span. Offensively, they average 4.4 runs per game, which is good for fifth in the AL. Texas’s pitching staff is one of the top in the AL at pitching on the road, with a 4.07 ERA.
The Mariners lead the season series, 8-5. The Mariners have an 18-26 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Hamels takes the mound. Walker (RHP) will be on the hill against the Rangers, who have a 48-39 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tex, O/U – Over
Notes
After last game’s shutout win against the Seattle, the Rangers now have eight shutouts this season. The Mariners have been shut out in 10 games this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Mariners are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Rangers have an 8-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Rangers are 17-48. The Mariners have an 18-47 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 14th in home runs, Texas has hit 137 this season. Seattle ranks fifth with 166 home runs.
Seattle and Texas both rank in the top 10 of the league in hits. Seattle sits at 10th with 8.54 hits per game and Texas ranks eighth with 8.68.
Seattle and Texas both rank in the top half of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Seattle sits at 14th with an OPS of .722 and Texas ranks 13th with an OPS of .727.
The Rangers are 35-48 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Mariners are 34-58 when they allow at least one homer.
