The Baltimore Orioles own the best home record in baseball entering their series with Seattle, and they better enjoy it with a nine-game road trip coming up. The Mariners have been a success on the road over the first six weeks of 2016. Something has to give when the teams square off in a Thursday matinee.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
We nearly had a matchup of first place teams until the Mariners did a belly flop in getting swept by the Angels over the weekend. Seattle dropped a pair of heart-breakers on Friday and Saturday, surrendering ninth-inning leads in both games before getting blanked in Sunday’s series finale. The M’s fell a half-game behind Texas in the AL West and hit the road for series with AL East-leading Baltimore.
Seattle has yet to lose a road series this season and heads to Baltimore as winners in nine of its last 12 away games. Over that time the Mariners are up 8.12 units on the moneyline. The Orioles, meanwhile, have taken advantage of a home-heavy early season schedule to post a MLB-best 16-6 record at Camden Yards and had their seven-game win streak stopped by Detroit on Sunday. The over is 6-1 in Baltimore’s past seven games.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Nathan Karns (3-1, 3.51 ERA) allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts across 6.1 innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Friday. He was in line for the win holding a 5-1 lead entering the seventh, but exited after allowing three singles. The bullpen surrendered the lead and the game, denying Karns his fourth win.
The right-hander has been solid of late, however, with four consecutive quality starts and a 2.46 ERA over his last 25.2 innings. Karns has developed into more than an inning-eating option at the back of the rotation.
The Orioles have yet to officially name a starter for the series finale, but the rotation spot could go to Mike Wright (2-3, 5.20 ERA), who tossed his best effort of the season in a win over the Tigers on Saturday. Wright allowed just three hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out a season-high six batters.
Wright threw 108 pitches in his longest outing of the season. The only runs given up came on a Miguel Cabrera homer. It was the first long ball Wright had yielded since Apr. 24 and only the fourth in 36.1 innings this year. He will face Seattle for the first time in his career.
LIVE BETTING
Seattle’s bullpen woes were the story of the weekend series with the Angels. The Mariners allowed 16 runs over the seventh, eighth and ninth innings of the three losses to the Halos. Closer Steve Cishek gave up five runs in two innings of work, blowing saves on Friday and Saturday. Joel Peralta served up three home runs while giving up for runs total in one inning over two appearances.
Going back to the previous series, the M’s blew saves in three consecutive games before dropping a 3-0 game to the Angels on Sunday. The bullpen didn’t have any runs on its record in that game, but reliever Nick Vincent served up a two-run single with those runs tagged on starter Felix Hernandez’s line. The patched-up pen, which underwent an overhaul following a disastrous 2015 season, was a strength heading into last week. Now there are all sorts of questions.
QUICK PICK
The Orioles have found a way to win in a variety of methods over their recent surge. Whether it’s hitting multiple homers, outperforming an opposing ace or simply stringing hits together, Baltimore has remained atop the AL East in all but four days this season. The O’s have established themselves as the premier home run hitting team with 55 long balls entering play this week, showing power up and down the lineup.
And that’s not good for the Mariners, who came up with different ways to lose while getting swept by the Angels over the weekend. Karns has been a find for the M’s rotation, but the O’s have enough experience and success against the former Rays hurler to deal him another loss.
MLB Odds: Baltimore 5, Seattle 4
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles is scheduled for Thursday, May 19, 2016, at 12:35 p.m. ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
