A pair of American League playoff contenders square off on FOX Saturday Baseball when the Seattle Mariners visit the Cleveland Guardians. The team formerly known as the Indians is the best team in the weakest division in baseball holding down first place while being nine games over .500. In any other division in MLB they’d be no better than third. But, that’s the luck of the draw I guess. You still have to win enough games to lead the four other clubs and the Indians ... I mean Guardians have done that.
First pitch for this AL contest between the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Guardians is set for 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 3, 2022. The game will air live on FOX from Progressive Field. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game of the MLB season.
MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
After a sluggish start that saw them sink 10 games below .500 on June 19, the Mariners have been among the best in baseball. They finished that month winning eight of 10 games and improved to 42-19 since June 19 after knocking off Detroit 9-3. We’re talking hot over the last two months, not LA Dodger hot, but scorching just the same improving to 71-58 in the black over $1000 on the moneyline for the season. That seemed impossible in mid-July. But that’s the beauty of a 162-game schedule.
If the game is close there’s a good chance Seattle is going to win. They have a MLB best 28 wins in one-run games and just last week took three of four from Cleveland when the clubs met in Seattle. Every game was close with each winning a one-run affair and the M’s getting a 3-1 and 4-0 victory in the others. Other than a spectacular record in one-run games, the M’s aren’t great in any particular area. They average just 4.15 runs with a .231 team batting average, both in the bottom third of MLB. Pitching and defense have been strengths with a 3.58 staff ERA and the fewest errors committed in MLB.
I guess one team has to lead the AL Central and the Guardians have obliged. It’s not going to be easy but the club has stepped up recently going 14-7 following their 5-1 win over Baltimore. The team got a boost from Cal Quantrill tossing six shutout innings in the win. “We’re playing our best baseball now and I don’t think teams like facing us,” he said after his 11th win of the season. Since only two teams in the division have a winning record and they are a combined 15 games over .500, it’s hard to consider Cleveland a threat.
In a lot of ways the teams are similar, which is why they played four close games in Seattle recently. Cleveland averages 4.28 runs and needs to manufacture offense since they lack power. Outside of Jose Ramirez they don’t have much pop. Ramirez has accounted for over one quarter of the teams home runs. And as a result the Guardians have played below the total in eight of nine games with an UNDER percentage of 53 percent for the year.
Probable Pitchers
We’re likely to get a pitching rematch from a game last week in Seattle that saw Robbie Ray (11-8, 3.58 ERA) dominate the Guardians in a 4-0 victory. Ray allowed just three hits striking out seven with no walks continuing a string of impressive outings by the 2021 Cy Young Award winner. He ended August with three straight wins posting a 1.64 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 33 innings in five starts during the month. He completed at least six innings in every start and didn’t allow more than two runs in any of them. Over his last 13 starts opponents are hitting less than .200 against him and the M’s are 10-3.
Aaron Civale (2-6, 5.40 ERA) was the unfortunate opponent in that game and he wasn’t nearly good enough. But Cleveland has seen the righty throw better recently after a tough early season stretch and a stint on the IL. Civale allowed only four hits in 6.1 innings, but two of them left the yard accounting for all four runs. He’s gone winless in his last nine starts but has pitched well enough to have at least a few Ws. In five starts prior to the Seattle game, Civale compiled a 1.99 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 22.2 innings. One of Civale’s finest moments on the bump came against Seattle last season when tossed eight shutout innings allowing one hit and fanning 11 in a 7-0 home win.
Mariners at Guardians MLB Odds Pick
We shouldn’t expect anything different than what we saw last week between the clubs. Four close, well-pitched games with Seattle winning three of them. The M’s have a more potent offense and Ray has been stellar in his last several outings pointing me to the visitors for a moneyline victory.
MLB Odds Prediction: Seattle Mariners / UNDER
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