The MLB All-Star break ended yesterday as all 30 franchises took to the diamonds around the nation to kick off the remainder of the regular season.
As each series continues on Saturday, two AL West rivals go head to head as the Seattle Mariners attempt to climb the standings with another contest against the division-leader Houston Astros.
Here’s a Mariners vs. Astros prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for this rivalry showdown.
Mariners vs. Astros prediction, preview
The Astros sit atop the AL West with a 56-41 record on the year as they try and protect a four-game lead over tonight’s opponent in the division standings. The Mariners are 52-45 and gained a bit of ground just before the break as these two teams look like they’re in very different form at the moment.
Seattle sits 7-3 across their last 10 games and beat the Astros in game one of this series just last night. Houston, meanwhile, fell to 4-6 across their last 10 contests and suffered ugly series losses to the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers prior to the All-Star hiatus, so they need to snap back to the version of themselves from a couple of weeks ago to protect their division lead.
In last night’s game, a 6-1 Mariners win, Seattle tallied six hits on the evening as homers by Randy Arozarena and Mitch Garver helped propel them to victory. Julio Rodriguez also went 0-for2 but reached base twice with a pair of walks while Cal Raleigh went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Houston tallied just four hits from Isaac Paredes, Victor Caratini, Mauricio Dubon and rookie Brice Matthews.
Mariners vs. Astros pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Mariners as -137 favorites on the Moneyline at home. The Astros come in as +113 underdogs in this one with the run total set at eight.
DraftKings Network just introduced a new probable pitchers page to track daily starter matchups, so be sure to check that out ahead of the game! In Saturday night’s slate-closer, 24-year-old right-hander Logan Evans (3.75 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 35 SO) starts for the Mariners against Houston’s lefty veteran Lance McCullers Jr. (6.48 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 49 SO).
Typically, I like to try and target game lines or pitcher props of some sort on these prediction and pick pieces. However, one of the bets tonight looks too good to pass up. Usually that’s not the case for a home run prop, but Cal Raleigh mashes this season and leads the MLB with 38 long balls on the season. He should feel energized after winning the Home Run Derby earlier this week and tonight’s matchup looks tasty against McCullers.
Raleigh bats .324 vs. lefties this season with an absurd .829 SLG mark and 1.200 OPS. 16 of his homers have come against southpaws and he boasts a 98th-percentile barrel percentage along with an 83rd-percentile average exit velocity and 90th-percentile bat speed. Why do those matter? McCullers has gotten shelled a few times this year with a 1.94 HR/9, fourth-percentile barrel percentage and fifth-percentile hard-hit percentage.
Don’t overthink it, just take Raleigh to mash another homer at +265 odds.
Best bet: Cal Raleigh 1+ home runs (+265)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
