After both the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros were swept in their respective series this weekend, the set these two open up on Monday is as close to a loser leave town series as baseball has seen in years.
Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners (-118, 7.5)
The Mariners open the series with their ace on the mound, Luis Castillo, who enters having allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts with a 3.06 ERA with 9.9 strikeouts and 2.4 walks per nine innings.
Castillo has been significantly better at home than on the road this season, posting a 2.52 ERA with 11 strikeouts per nine innings in Seattle compared to a 3.62 ERA with 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings away from home.
Countering for the Astros on the mound is Justin Verlander, who enters having surrendered at least three runs in three of his last four starts and since being acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline, has a 3.93 ERA and 4.33 fielding independent with 1.5 home runs per nine innings allowed.
The Mariners back Castillo with the better bullpen as they rank fourth in ERA overall this season while the Astros are seventh in bullpen ERA and since game one of the last series between these teams on August 18, the Mariners are seventh in the league with a 3.69 bullpen ERA while the Astros 4.81 bullpen ERA is 20th.
Since these teams hooked up on August 18th to open their most recent series, the Astros are averaging nearly 6.1 runs per game, with only the Baltimore Orioles averaging more runs per game, but in that series the Mariners held the Astros to a total of nine runs in three games and Houston enters having scored five runs or fewer in five straight games.
The Mariners are 8-2 in the season series against the Astros this season and their superior pitching will guide Seattle to a win at home on Monday.
The Play: Mariners -118
